


Convergence

by EmeraldNorth



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Greek Mythology, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Angst and Humor, F/M, First Meetings, Fluff, Let's Go!, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, all these aus, but only so little lol, oh god so much to tag, okay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-08-09 02:33:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16441358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmeraldNorth/pseuds/EmeraldNorth
Summary: No matter what place, what time, what life or what universe, their paths would cross. They would not always get the chance to fall in love, or even talk, but they would meet each other for at least one, precious moment.[various AUs; One-Shot collection; AlLena]Cross-posted from my FF.net





	1. Sky Pirate/Steampunk!AU: A Bird With Heavy Wings (1/2)

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like this ship almost has rare pair status by now.
> 
> Also I say one-shots, but there are a few multi-chap bits in here.
> 
> There will also probably be more angst than fluff in this.

Allen felt the pounding in his head, and immediately he wondered whether Lavi managed to convince him to have another drinking contest, even if he swore he'd never do it again after what happened last time.

He made a move to rest his forehead in his palm, but that's where he encountered his first difficulty. His hands couldn't move more than a few inches, and his arms were uncomfortably pressed to his sides.

He heard a voice in the distance, and all of a sudden he was soaking wet, covered in freezing cold water. The shock ran through his body, causing his eyes to shoot open.

He was about yell out an instinctive 'Don't call me beansprout!", but luckily he realized in time that the long-haired Asian in front of him was not Kanda.

"Where am I?" He asked defensively, taking in the unknown environment.

The long-haired Asian, a young woman of about his age, stood in front of him with her arms crossed. She had a frown plastered on her face, and her foot tapped against the floor boards in rhythmic annoyance.

A cowering man stood behind her, close to the door.

"Nice to know you're finally awake, sleeping beauty." She greeted him with an edge to her voice, but not ignoring his question. "Where do you think you are?"

Allen closed his eyes, trying to remember what happened last… but all of it was a bit fuzzy. He opened his eyes again, looking at the girl who had meanwhile stemmed her arms an her hips, letting her uniform fall freely down her sid- wait, uniform?

That dark blue uniform, how didn't he see it earlier? His gaze travelled to the patch that displayed an officers ranking, and he quickly deduced that he was in the presence of a captain.

He gulped. He was alone in a small room, tied to a chair in front of an annoyed female who just happened to be a captain of the Holy Celestial Forces.

"Oops." He muttered dumbly.

* * *

Lenalee was pissed off beyond pretty much anything. The crew members cowered before her and this bloody moron had the audacity to answer her with a mere 'oops'. After all the trouble she went through beating the shit out of him and dragging his unconscious body back to the ship, his answer was 'oops'.

She knew she was supposed to stay calm, but this situation was so unbearable that she didn't really have a choice.

"That's all you have to say?" She inquired darkly, not even trying to keep her emotions in check.

After taking his own sweet time to wake up, she had every right to bathe him in the negativity that build up around her while he was peacefully napping.

"Should there be more to say?" The white-haired man asked helplessly, tilting his head to the side and chuckling nervously.

She took a deep breath, counted to ten and slowly breathed out again. Not really much better.

"You're one of Redbeard's men, right?" She inquired instead with a surprisingly steady tone that didn't sound too much like she was about to murder somebody.

The man looked confused, and a few seconds later he answered with an unsure "I guess?".

But Lenalee had an inkling as to why he was confused. The Holy Celestial Forces and the Church didn't know Redbeard's real name, but all eyewitnesses agreed on the man's willowing crimson beard, earning himself said codename amongst them.

"Then I'm sure you don't mind sharing his location with us, right?" She made clear that it wasn't a question, threateningly looming over him.

He gave her a nervous smile. "Trust me, that's what we'd like to know."

* * *

This girl was radiating as much bloodlust as Kanda after Lavi braided his hair.

Allen shrunk back into the chair as she grew closer, her purple eyes glaring him down. She wanted to know where Master Cross was?

"Trust me, that's what we'd like to know." He answered her truthfully, giving her the best apologetic smile he could muster under her inquiring gaze.

Her eyes narrowed at him, then she straightened herself up again and turned to the man standing by the door.

"Leave us." She commanded, and the man immediately broke out in sweat.

"B-But Captain Lee! I c-" He stuttered.

"Don't make me repeat myself." She said in an eerily calm and cold voice.

The man whimpered and ran out of the room.

After turning back she trained her eyes on an area below Allen's face. Then she reached out and pushed his collar out of the way.

It took her gloved hand brushing against his collarbone for him to fully realize what was going on, but when he did and jerked back in the chair, it was already too late.

He could see by the expression on her face that she had seen it, and that she knew exactly what it meant.

"You're an Enchanter." She stated simply, some of her previous anger replaced with surprise and shock.

He opened his mouth, but it felt dry. He cursed in his mind at his carelessness, not only had he been caught but he managed to reveal his special abilities in the process.

But he was confused by her reaction. Most people always grew afraid, and backed off, or they would start panicking or something.

But she just stood there, eyebrows deeper than they should probably ever be on a woman's face and in deep thought.

God, Master Cross and Lavi were rubbing off on him.

But it was also an opportunity for him to study her rather peculiar attire. The only thing that tied her to the Holy Celestial Forces was her uniform jacket, the rest of her uniform had been altered significantly.

Her boots were extremely intricate and prominent, followed by the knee-high socks and athletic shorts… the complete opposite of what all the other soldiers he had encountered before wore.

They usually opted for heavier fabric, more protective cuts and heavy weaponry, which in his opinion was rather nonsensical in aerial battles, but her outfit was definitely chosen for agility and mobility, not defence, pure offense.

Ignoring the fact that he was openly staring at her legs, a glimmer of a memory came back to him, they were on a passenger ship, and she landed a kick on him… a humanly impossible strong kick.

Enchanters are feared… The man who looked like he was about to die just from being in the same room as her!

He looked up at her, revelation gleaming in his eyes. "You're one too."

* * *

Her eyes widened involuntarily at the sound of his conclusion. How had he figured out?

"I remember… a bit… from the ship…" He carefully explained.

She nodded slowly, her eyes still trained on the various markings across his shoulder, markings eerily similar to the ones that covered her legs.

Her face remained in its scowl, but a soft feeling of relief flooded her.  _There were others like her_.

She shooed away the voice in her head that reminded her of the constant pain those markings caused her, and knowing that others suffered similarly still brought a speck of warmth and compassion to the heart she had carefully kept under control.

But they were a necessary sacrifice to bring her closer to her goal. The Holy Celestial Forces were a necessary evil for that goal.

"How many more Enchanters are under Redbeard's control?" She asked him, not indulging him further in his discovery of their similarities.

The question caught him off guard, and the white-haired boy put on a pensive look before looking to the side. "I'm the only one."

_Liar._

"And if I find that hard to believe?" She whispered, having moved in close enough to force him to look her in the eyes by grabbing his chin.

His blue-grey eyes stared into hers with a hint of worry and caution, but her gesture had caused the man's long fringe to shift to the side, revealing what surrounded his left eye.

She nearly laughed out loud. Nearly.

How had nobody seen it before? Seriously?

The upside-down star shape stared back at her, and with her conscience gnawing at the back of her mind, her gloved fingers brushed against his white fringe, moving the strands back in position to cover his eye.

She coughed awkwardly, trying to forget the image the curse mark had burned into her mind. She was well acquainted with them, she was a church official after all.

And she knew the kind of crimes one must commit to receive one.

* * *

"Don't make me repeat myself, how many more are there?" Her voice was awfully steady, and he realized she was doing her best to keep her poker-face on.

But Allen's heart was still racing from their proximity, the way she had tenderly put his bangs over his cursed eye again without saying a single word, only holding a horrified, pained, pitying look in her purple eyes.

But the horror wasn't directed at him. For that, and the fact that she hadn't touched upon the subject, he was eternally grateful.

"I'm not the only one." He finally answered, unable to lie to her after she had done something that meant more to him than she could ever imagine.

His mind flashed to the time he had received the curse mark, the pain and the ominous chanting, and the fear. The overwhelming fear.

The first time he had encountered an officer of the Holy Celestial Forces who had laughed at him condescendingly.

The judgemental looks after being thrown out of the orphanage onto the streets.

And now her, sincerely avoiding the subject.

"I already figured that out, idiot." She spoke with forced upbeat-ness. "A number would be great."

"I don't think the number would mean a lot to you." Allen answered seriously. There were quite a few Enchanters on his ship, all with a wide variety of abilities. The number itself really wouldn't help her in any ways.

"Trust me, it'd be enough." She answered quietly.

To be honest, she sounded more like a little girl than a Captain of feared Church armies.

And all of a sudden, he couldn't help but wonder whether she felt lonely. Were there other Enchanters in the Forces? Or was she the only one?

"I don't know the exact number," he replied slowly, yet earnestly, "But there are at least ten, including me."

She didn't even attempt to hide her sharp intake of air.

* * *

"Ten. At least ten." She muttered to herself. Lenalee was honestly unsure of what to do or say next.

She glanced back at the man. "You sure?"

He nodded. She gritted her teeth in displeasure, the events of a few moments ago nearly forgotten. At least ten. Currently, she was the only Enchanter the Holy Forces had. Of course the CROWs were on their side, but she had no idea what kind of abilities these Enchanters had, be it offensive, defensive, high mobility, low mobility, support or pure damage.

The echoes of agonized screams of the children who couldn't bear the markings crossed her mind in addition to Suman's crying face, telling her he couldn't take this life anymore.

Ten. The number made her thoughts run wild. The enemy force had at least ten people like her.

Ten people who went through the same process she did.

Ten Enchanters.

Leverrier was not going to like this.

* * *

Her silence irked him, to be honest, but it was quickly broken by an uproar outside of their doors. She seemed to pick up on it, turning to the door while letting out an irritated growl.

A few seconds later, the window behind him shattered and an obnoxious battle cry of 'PAAAASTAAAA!' filled the small cabin as a redhead with an eyepatch gracefully landed on the ground in a heroic pose.

"Allen!" He cried out gleefully, having spotted his white-haired friend. His green eyes landed on the girl standing in front of him a split-second later, and his demeanour changed immediately.

"Well, hellooooo there, beautiful." The intruder practically purred at her, making her step back in slight disgust.

"This is really not the time for that!" Allen shouted at Lavi. "And why the fuck did you mention my name? And what is 'Pasta' supposed to mean?!"

"Well, I'm sorry, but you've had fun with the pretty girl for the past few hours, it's my turn now." Lavi pouted. "And you always respond to food, I thought it'd be a sure-fire way of tracking you down!"

"What am I, a dog?! And don't assume I'm any bit like Master Cross or you!""

Lavi never got the chance to respond to that question once Lenelee's sole made contact with his back, making him fall forward on all fours.

"Explain." She ordered sternly, glaring at him while her boot pressed further into his back.

The redhead chuckled. "As much as I love the attention of fine ladies such as yourself, I am afraid my dear beansprout here is right. This isn't the time for this."

He voluntarily let himself drop on his stomach, rolling over and pulling a giant hammer out, intercepting her well-aimed kick.

In a fluid and graceful movement, she retracted her leg and circled the man, and Lavi only barely managed to block her leg with his hammer.

"Allen! Help appreciated!" he hissed at the figure in the chair.

Only, the white-haired man wasn't in the chair anymore, rope cut cleanly and lying on the ground.

Shocked by the sudden turn of events, Lenalee momentarily took her eyes of the flirtatious redhead – a fatal mistake which ended with her being socked in the stomach by an overly large hammer, catapulting her into the wall on the other side of the room.

Letting a short groan of pain escape her lips, she activated the markings covering her legs, hissing at the sudden pain she would probably never get used to.

Effortlessly, she pushed herself of the wall, closing in on the two male pirates with superhuman speed, hitting both of them with a well-timed roundhouse kick.

Their bodies broke through the frail wooden wall and landed in the hallway, where currently only pure chaos ensued.

It seemed Redbeard's men had infiltrated their ship. Seeing the helpless crew members trying to fight against the pirates, she growled angrily before reluctantly moving in to rescue them.

Those two Enchanters would have to wait.

* * *

Watching her move through the rowdy mass was captivating, that is the only way Allen could describe it. It was as if she was dancing by herself, and the other men just happened to be standing there.

Momentarily , he forgot that those men were his comrades, and just saw her like a bird, effortlessly floating over them with an ethereal lightness and ease.

Except that the weight of her soul seemed to weigh her down.

 _She must really be lonely_. The thought crossed Allen's mind as he began to see the parallels between her and Kanda, highly skilled with no social life. And those pained eyes.

She was a public Enchanter, there was no way she could have many friends with the Church…

"You should stop staring." Lavi's voice interrupted his thoughts. "That's what got you captured in the first place."

"What?" Allen asked dumbly, not having heard the entire question.

"You know, passenger ship, tracking down Timothy 'cause he ran off again, the little brat. You also just stared at her and she completely wiped the floor with you."

Allen bashfully looked away from Lavi, hiding the slight pink tinge on his cheeks.

* * *

Lenalee heard the unfamiliar horn fill the air and in an instant, all enemy fighters began retreating. In the chaos she spotted two male figures, one white-haired, the other red-haired.

She pushed through the masses, pursuing them. They noticed her, and just as she was about to jump over the hole in the ground to reach them, The white-haired man, Allen, if she recalled correctly, pulled out his hand, revealing a set of claws. He cleanly sliced through the support pillars of the ceiling and his partner smashed the surrounding pillars with his size-changing hammer.

She could only hold her arms over her head as everything collapsed around her. As soon as the rumbling stopped, she pushed the broken planks aside, reaching daylight sooner than expected, Poking her head out of the rubble, ignoring the various scratches on her face and arms, she found that Allen was still standing there.

* * *

Allen heard Lavi call his name, but he hesitantly stopped to turn back to the young woman. "I'm really sorry." He told her earnestly. "You seem like an intelligent person… Please remember that things aren't always as they seem."

With those words, he turned around and ran after his comrade, ignoring the rage-filled screams echoing after him as the green-haired girl tried to break through the barricade of broken planks and furniture.

* * *

Lenalee angrily slammed her fist against one of the broken walls of the airship. She had been so close. So goddamn close.

A nurse tried to bandage her scratched up arms from where her uniform tore and remove the splinters lodged in her fingers and exposed skin, but she couldn't care less.

The image of Leverrier giving her that haughty look already loomed in her mind, making her punch the wall a second time for good measure. Ignoring the cracks left in the already broken down wall, she cursed under her breath.

The plan had been simple. She would have interrogated him and brought him back to Headquarters, and they wouldn't have had a choice but to promote her. He was one of Redbeard's Enchanters, for goodness' sake. She would have almost caught a second one as well.

She cursed her duty to protect the crew members.

Then she would have finally gotten the clearance level for those files.

The files that would reveal exactly what happened to Komui all those years ago.


	2. Cyperpunk!AU: A Broken Body And A Broken Soul

The rain clattered in the background, mixing with the oil that swam on the roads. The young man sat against the alley wall, staring towards the dark, cloud-covered sky with emotionless eyes.

There was no beauty in life.

The rain probably would have caused problems for all his various mods, but they were all rusty already anyways. Not that he cared. Not that he cared about anything, really.

He was damaged goods, that's why they threw him out on the streets. Back to where they picked him up from, essentially.

He groaned at the memory, at all the shit they put him through, but he was desperate, and he needed the nutrition and the money, so he let them install one mod after the other. Then he did their dirty work.

He remembered being stabbed in the eye by a rebellion member, then getting an advanced optical nerve installed. God, that hurt. But God wasn't on his side. After the surgery was done, he remembered liquid running down his face. He experienced joy at the thought of being able to cry, only to find that it was blood from the messily done operation.

One infected wound and difficulties syncing with the software later, and here he was, ungratefully thrown out with the garbage.

Whenever he moved, he would hear the mechanical whirr that would remind him of his bad decisions in life. Dying from starvation or sickness would probably have been better.

His optical drive suddenly came to life as it scanned his surroundings of its own accord. He grunted in pain and clutched at his head as the information was painfully relayed to his brain.

Damn bastards didn't even give him pain meds.

There was another human being in his vicinity, and it was walking towards him. He grew startled. He hadn't seen an actual human being in a long time. The scan didn't pick up any implants of any sort, which meant that this person had to be completely bone and flesh, a rather foreign concept nowadays.

It didn't take long for his hearing implants to pick up the soft sound of careful footsteps and differentiate its track from the monotone pitter-patter of the rain.

Another surge of information reached his brain with a wave of agony, telling him that the approaching person was a female teenager and that she posed no threat.

Nothing really posed a threat to him anymore, not after replacing more than half his body with the most advanced alloys.

"Hello?" A soft, feminine voice asked tentatively into the alley.

He chose to ignore it, she'd go on in a few seconds anyway. There were two kinds of people who didn't get mods: Those who can't afford them and those who don't need them.

Against his will, his eye continued scanning the girl, placing her into the latter of the two categories. Good health, good clothing, lowered body temperature due to the rain…

If he had a way to switch off his brain, he would. He groaned as the pain became too much to bear, and he could make out her footsteps coming closer.

"Are you alright?" She asked again, worry lacing her speech. "Are you hurt?"

He held up one hand, signalling her to stop. He didn't need to get involved with higher society if it could be avoided. Additionally, if she were to come any closer, his scanners would pick up on her ID-chip and it'd go on his records that he encountered her.

That would only lead to more trouble.

Unnecessary trouble.

"You really don't look well." She stated, ignoring his hand and coming closer. "I must be able to help somehow."

There. She crossed the line and entered the perimeter. Data flooded his mind once the damn radar found the chip.

Lenalee Lee. February 20th 2077. 17 years old. 168 cm tall. 48 kg. Blood type B. Deceased mother. Deceased father. Deceased brother. Taken in by an associate's family. Leverrier. Low muscle build-up. Balanced diet. No registered mods or surgery.

He hissed and bent forward, clutching his head as the information came and went. He'd already forgotten half of it.

"Oh my goodness, what happened to you?!" The girl rushed to his side, putting her small palms on his shoulder in a wasted effort to comfort him.

He could hardly form any words as her entire file was being downloaded straight into his brain. He tried telling her to get away, but the pain kept interfering as he felt his few last remaining human brain cells die away.

His fingers clawed into the muddy grounds, the rain drowning out the girl's frantic inquiring, the pain drowning out his common sense.

He started panting once it died down, only to realize that he hadn't actually been clutching at the ground, but rather at the girl's delicate wrist that was now heavily bruised.

"S-Sorry…" He wheezed in exhaustion. The optical drive focused on her face, immediately displaying the percentage of various chemicals that had built up on her hair and skin.

"Are you feeling better now?" She asked, eyes wide in shock and panic. A display with her current hormone levels popped up in his periphery.

He dismissed the display and nodded weakly. "Yeah, I'm good now." His voice sounded raspy in his ears. Oh, right, they threw him out before he could install that equalizer.

And he still didn't have any pain meds.

"You don't really look that way. And I'm pretty sure that's not supposed to happen." She remarked unhappily.

He gave her a half-hearted shrug. "Incompatibility with the software."

The digital trail was there now, he might as well find out what somebody like her is doing in shady alleys in the middle of the night.

"I thought they check these kinds of things beforehand."

He chuckled, but sounded more like a weird mixture of a cough and a dying breath. "Only for the public eye, only for the public eye. You're awfully smart-mouthed, aren't you?"

It was her turn to shrug. "I read a lot of books. I'm not allowed out of the house."

He nearly laughed, but was too tired and pain-stricken to. "You actually still read? Oh right, you don't have a nerve plug, sorry."

He sighed. What was it like, actually reading, fine lack words printed on solid paper?

"There's nothing to be sorry about. It got boring eventually. The broadcasts aren't much better, either." She replied with a soft sigh, cradling her injured wrist and sliding down the side of the wall next to him.

"You might not want to say such things, everything I hear gets recorded and relayed." He informed her as a warning. The corporations had eyes and ears everywhere. Quite literally.

"I don't care." She answered honestly, lifting her gaze to the dark sky. "I really don't care about anything anymore."

"Oh really?" He attempted to crack a joke. "You seemed quite worried about me back there."

She didn't laugh. He had always been terrible at telling jokes.

"What's your name?" She abruptly changed subjects instead.

"I don't have a name, only a designation number." He explained.

"Isn't that kind of sad? Aren't you upset about that?" Her eyes left the star-less sky, focusing on him now.

"Should I be?" He answered with a question, never having given that point any thought.

"Well, yes. A name is given to you by somebody who cares about you. It's a reminder that at least one person out there cares about you. A number is just… crude."

"You think so? That's a nice thought." He smiled softly, but it kind of hurt with the metal bones in parts of his face. He wasn't built for smiling.

"It is. If I keep telling myself that, I might believe it." She spoke more to herself than to him. Then she went silent for a few seconds.

"Aren't you going to ask me what my name is?" She inquired after gathering her thoughts.

"No, I already know it. Lenalee Lee." He recited for her.

"Wh- but how?" Her eyes grew wide once more, and a display showing the change in her hormonal composition popped up again.

He groaned and dismissed it. He didn't need the scientific explanation to 'she is distressed by what you just said'.

He strenuously gestured to the base of his neck, where his chip was implanted. "The only surgery you've ever had in your life, your ID-chip."

The display showed her calming down again.

"Oh." She replied with a hint of embarrassment. "Right, I forgot."

A pause.

"So… what is it?" She tentatively spoke up again.

"What is what?" He raised a brow at her.

"Your name, number, whatever I should call you." She rolled her eyes.

"18-54."

"18-54, huh? That seems pretty random."

"I'm very sure it is. I've never really questioned it, it's just… been there." He shrugged again, as far as his damaged body allowed him to.

"So, 18-54, do you feel like you have a purpose in life?" She changed topics once more, her purple eyes reflecting the dull sky and mismatched neon lights in their surroundings.

"A purpose in life?" He hummed in thought. "Looking back, probably to become a guinea pig for some corporation to experiment on and then get thrown away once I've outgrown my usefulness and starve away on the streets. What a fulfilling life."

"But, in a twisted way, you still served a purpose for humanity." She remarked bitterly.

An alarm went off for another change in hormone levels, but he ignored it. He desperately tried to pry the word displayed in the conclusion box out of his mind.

Envy.

Why would she be envious of his sorry life?

"If that's the way you want to word it, yes, I've contributed to the development of scientific mods for human bodies. Still not very fulfilling." He answered carefully.

"I read this quote once, in a very old book. It said that you value the things you don't have the most. Just now you asked me why I was worried about you. Basically, I wanted to know whether I was worth anything. Whether I was good for anything. Whether I had a purpose."

Her eyes were still trained at the sky, the rain still splattered onto her flesh, but a single drop that held a higher salt percentage left the corner of her eye.

"If I have a purpose, as rotten as it may be, then surely you have one too." He tried comforting her with genuine understanding in his voice.

He grew up on the streets, a mess in rags questioning his existence. The moment somebody offered him anything, he latched on and never let go. Unfortunately, he was simply cut off. Disposable.

"How would I ever find out, though? I'm never allowed to leave the house, I have maids tending to my every needs, I never fall ill, I never injure myself. In fact," She held up her fractured wrist which he had completely forgotten about. "… I must've taken so many supplements and medications in my life that I don't even feel pain anymore. I once read that pain makes you feel alive, it's proof you're alive, but what if you don't feel pain?" Silent tears broke out from her tear ducts.

"…You're here, right?" He asked her heavy-heartedly. "You're here, talking with me, right?"

She merely gulped, swallowing down her sob.

"You're here, crying, aren't you?" He went on, joining her gaze directed at the empty sky. "I… I'm incapable of crying, you know? The tech won't allow it. Only blood comes out."

She still remained quiet, a soft hiccup the only thing to escape her lips.

"You say you're unable to feel pain, yet you're still crying, right? Why are you crying then?"

A louder, but still suppressed sob came from her mouth. Finally, she choked out the reason.

"Because it hurts! Not knowing, not understanding, it hurts!" Her uninjured hand clutched at the fabric over her chest, where her heart was.

"It hurts so much!" She wailed into the rain.

He sighed, putting a hand over where his human heart used to be. It also still hurt.

"That pain is proof you're alive, isn't it?" He continued sadly.

"This is not the kind of life I want." She admitted through tears. "I'm a waste of space. I'm not able of doing anything at all, I'm treated like a fragile doll at home. Think of all the people who would be better off getting the food I'm fed! Think of the medication wasted on me!"

"It's a privilege."

"That's the worst part of it all. I know that, but I still can't seem to find solace in it." She pulled her knees close to her torso and buried her face in them.

Her hormone composition went off the charts, switching between multiple emotions and showing numerous error codes.

"Lenalee." He said softly.

She responded to her name, lifting her head slightly and glancing at him.

"Lenalee." He repeated once more, firmer. "Somebody gave you that name, right? Somebody who cared about you? I'm sure this person wanted you to live a good life."

Their conversation would have to be cut short, it seemed, judging by the red dots that appeared on the mini-map in his periphery.

"They're gone, though. I don't remember any of their faces." She sniffled.

He nodded. He also had no idea what his family looked like. However…

"Allen."

"What?" She asked, visibly confused.

"The last name I remember having. It's… Allen."

The next few seconds were filled with chaos as multiple armed men stormed around the corner into the alleyway, voices blurred by speakers penetrating his artificial eardrums all while the scanner picked up all the ID-chips of the intruders.

The expected load of pain hit him as his brain desperately tried processing all the information, but peering through his eyelids he could only see Lenalee being dragged away by two of the armed men, one female sound pattern breaking through the rest.

"ALLEN!"

* * *

" _Huh, didn't expect it to be him."_

" _What, you know him?"_

" _Yeah, used to be one of the test subjects at the lab. Turned out to be defective and useless, though."_

" _Yeah, we get those kind too, from time to time. Anyways, how should we proceed?"_

" _Make a copy of his voice pattern, we'll forge some conversation later. Delete the rest afterwards. Let's just go with 'defective mod causes man to injure Minister Leverrier's ward and blame it on one of the other companies. Nobody'll question it."_

" _Roger."_

* * *


	3. Sky Pirate/Steampunk!AU: A Bird With Heavy Wings (2/2)

Lenalee drew in a deep breath once she stood alone in the hallway, cupping her mouth with her bandaged palm.

She had just lied to Leverrier. She had just lied straight to his face, telling him she didn't get any useful intel out of the captured boy.

A passing officer gave her a questioning glance, but she held a superior rank so he scuffled along.

She put a palm on her racing heart, and once it had settled, she headed towards the library, the names 'Allen' and 'Master Cross' etched into her memory.

* * *

She walked passed the librarian with her head held high and headed straight for the archives. After skimming through the 'C' section for quite an amount of time, her heartbeat increased at the file labelled 'Cross, M.'.

It had been a long shot, and she didn't really expect to find anything here, but she fished the papers out with hasty hands.

She dumped the thick file on a remote desk far from any questioning eyes and began to read through them.

She gulped. General Marian Cross.

With a deep breath, she looked at the picture of the red-haired man, along with the bold red stamp reading 'MIA' across the first page of his files.

An Enchanter, it seemed. Just like her and 'Allen'.

It went on detailing his abilities, his achievements and ultimately the mission from which he never returned.

Yes, what a mystery. She had no doubt in her mind that this man ran away from the Holy Celestial Forces and the Church in order to get the freedom an Enchanter could never have here. She had been tempted to abandon missions as well in the past.

She leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. Marian Cross left the Forces and started a group of pirates, it seemed.

Anybody who hadn't met the General before would have immediately notice the vibrant red locks and thus, he had been dubbed 'Redbeard'.

All the pieces were coming together now, if only slowly.

She sighed, considering the fact that her newfound knowledge wouldn't help her locate either 'Allen' or the man himself.

After reading the file a second time, she shook her head to herself, put it back where it belonged and left the library again. She'd need to find information elsewhere.

* * *

"Captain Lee, I was just looking for you."

The voice made an uncomfortable shiver run down her back, and she turned around with slight hesitance.

"Inspector Leverrier, how can I help you?" She asked almost meekly. Almost.

"I wanted to know whether you perhaps remembered anything of importance from the other day, regarding Redbeard. Sometimes memories need some time to resurface, I heard." He spoke with heavy implications.

Lenalee braced herself for the worst. Panic was rising within her and she could only pray that she wouldn't have an anxiety attack, not that God would hear her out.

"I'm afraid I didn't remember anything." She answered as evenly as she could.

He towered over her, a look of suspicion and disappointment flashing across his face.

"I see." He leaned forward slightly, just enough to bore further into her eyes. "Let me know when something does come to your mind."

That said, he continued on his way down the hallway.

Lenalee was still frozen, and only when she was sure he had left her vicinity she let herself sink to her knees.

Because, for a split second there, she was an eight-year-old girl again, strapped to a hard bed, writhing in pain and agony, and he was giving her that imploring look again, telling her to try activating the Enchantments again. And again. And again.

She shook her head, hoping that nobody witnessed her nearly break down, and was relieved to find the corridor empty.

Standing up again on wobbly legs, she scolded herself.

Had she seriously been naïve enough to think that Leverrier wouldn't suspect something was off about her story? Of course, after all, she had told him a very black lie.

Sorting out her thoughts, she wondered why she instinctively decided to keep the two Enchanters she had encountered that day a secret from her superiors.

It was a streak of luck that none of her crew were smart enough to differentiate between normal humans and Enchanters, and that they were so caught up in the chaotic fray that they didn't see the boy in the white coat and the second one with a ginormous hammer.

And then, his words echoed in her mind.

" _Please remember that things aren't always as they seem."_

And then, her loyalty seemed to be just as wobbly as her legs.

* * *

Allen let his forehead fall against the wooden table, ignoring Kanda as he continued lecturing him for letting the enemy capture him.

Lavi really wasn't a big help either. The treacherous redhead just kept sniggering. "It was because of a girl."

The look of disapproval he got from Kanda was an evolved form of his standard frown. It had to be.

"You really are stupid, beansprout. We have an objective to fulfil." The Japanese man shook his head. "I can't believe you let Cross get to you like that."

Allen let out a muffled groan. He also couldn't believe it. But then his equally treacherous mind wandered back to the female Enchanter working for the Church.

And the one short glimpse he caught, the split second in which she just looked so… lonely.

And the way that look reflected the heap of misery he used to. What all of them used to be.

The door opened, tearing him out of his thoughts. Another Asian man entered the room.

"Hey Allen, good to see you're back." The man greeted him in a friendly tone. "Let me just check up on your arm, okay?"

Allen smiled lightly at the man, grateful to have at least one helpful soul around. "Thanks, Komui."

* * *

It was only weeks later that they met again. Lenalee was leading the group assigned to transport some important cargo, not that anybody was telling her what it was. But she sighed and accepted it anyway, hoping it would bring her one step closer to the promotion she desperately needed.

She was still upset that all trails regarding Marian Cross had led to a dead end, and frustrated at the lack of trails that even existed. Most of them were unpaid debts any which way.

It began as a smooth operation, but then the warning came in from the outlook mast.

"Unregistered ship approaching!" The man shouted down, making all crew members go into a frenzy. She signalled the group of soldiers she was leading ton ready their weapons and prepare for battle.

Once they left, she stepped to the edge of the airship and took a telescope out of her pocket, peering at the unknown ship through the clouds.

True to the outlook's word, it didn't have any visible registration or identification. She grimaced. Damn pirates.

* * *

Allen looked out of the window, keeping a steady eye on the airship belonging to the Holy Celestial Forces.

"Are you sure it's on that ship?" He asked the old man standing next to him.

"Don't doubt my sources, boy." Bookman grumbled at him. "They got a well-renowned captain and group of elite soldiers to guard it, it has to be there. The Church doesn't want to take any risks."

The white-haired boy frowned. "Do you think we can take them on?"

"Don't start worrying now, Walker. You four just need to get in, sabotage it and get out again. It'd be best if you can avoid the guards, but you'll just have to risk it."

Allen glanced at Kanda and Lavi who were bickering as always. He wasn't worried about them. It was their fourth member he was really worried about.

* * *

Lenalee strategically placed her soldiers in the halls surrounding the cargo, with her being the final instance guarding it. If they think they can get through her, they are very, very wrong.

She heard the shouts in the floors above her and immediately suppressed the guilt building up within her. Crew members were expandable, the cargo was not.

Curiously, she gave the large object a one-over, but she still didn't know what to make of it. Maybe a machine of sorts? It was covered by a very large tarp, so she only had the silhouette to work with.

She shook her head. She needed to focus.

* * *

The four of them infiltrated the ship from the bottom while the others caused a diversion at the top. Chaos was always the best cover.

Lavi and Kanda ended up fighting off the two soldiers they encountered, so it was only the two of them now, heading down the hallway that was obviously being guarded heavily.

Allen peered into the next room, finding it to be a large room with one big object in the middle. Bingo.

He signalled his partner to stay out until he confirmed the whereabouts of the captain. Logically speaking, the strongest fighter would be the final instance.

Carefully, he entered the room, trying to sense whether anybody was in there or not.

Then, he was surprised by a powerful kick to his back.

* * *

Lenalee saw somebody enter without giving the password, so she hid herself in the shadows. The man wore a hood, immediately distinguishing himself from her subordinates.

Once he had turned his back to her, she launched out of the shadows. Her kick landed with precision, sending the man across the room with a grunt.

However, he caught himself and landed somewhat gracefully before impacting in the wall.

"Oh, it's you." He said in a rather boyish voice.

Realization dawned on her. "So Redbeard is behind this. Or should I say Marian Cross?"

He chuckled. "I told you that you seemed like an intelligent person. Not that his name will really lead you anywhere." The hooded man, 'Allen', stood up.

"It did." She replied with chagrin. "It lead me to a lot of debts."

'Allen' sighed. "Yeah, that's to be expected. But that's not why I'm here."

She put on a stern face, gesturing to the cargo. "I'm guessing it's for this here."

She made out the nodding motion of his hood.

"Though I am surprised you'd be willing to guard it considering what it is." He answered.

"Classified information. I don't know what it is, and frankly, I don't care." She replied coldly, even if the curiosity did get to her.

"I see."

With a blinding flash, white bandages shot out around her, attempting to capture her. Her enchantments were activated just a split second later and just in time to dodge the sentient strips of cloth.

"I don't want to do this, but I'm afraid I have to." 'Allen' continued, a trace of regret in his voice.

Lenalee settled on the ceiling, her tied-up hair following gravity and hanging down next to her in long streaks.

Her ability was nothing for weak stomachs.

"Your concerns are not mutual." She shot back, contrary to what she felt in her heart.

* * *

Allen somehow wasn't surprised that she was the captain leading this operation, but he felt a small simmer of anger within him at the crude cruelty of the situation.

Making her guard a machine designed to kill Enchanters.

But, that was what his partner was here for.

He knew he probably would have many difficulties landing a good hit on her, considering how His abilities were a bad match-up for her superhuman mobility.

Even now, she was hanging upside-down from the ceiling, battle-ready.

He had hoped he could surprise her with the bandages, but that wasn't the case. The best he could do now was draw her away so that Komui could sabotage the machine.

He headed towards a more remote corner of the big room, sighing in relief as she followed him by running across the ceiling.

If she'd just come down now, then she'd lose her eagle-eye view and Komui could work without interruptions.

As if on cue, she shot down and tried to land a kick on him that he only narrowly managed to dodge.

The next few minutes were full of carefully calculated jabs at each other, but as their fight progressed, it was clear that she had the upper hand.

Then, one wrongly anticipated move later, her knee sunk into his abdomen and he hit the ground hard, while she held him down.

She looked like she was about to say something, but she hesitated.

While he was experiencing excruciating pain, this was actually to his advantage. If he managed to keep her attention on him, she wouldn't notice the extra person in the room.

He coughed roughly as her knee dug deeper into his flesh.

"What are your plans?" She finally decided to ask.

He coughed once more. "I told you already, things aren't always as they seem." He replied with a raspy voice.

Her face held traces of anger and impatience. "I prefer details over riddles."

"It's not my place to tell you." He pushed out with a strained voice as her knee held its position.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Of course it isn't."

Allen felt it grow more and more difficult to breathe as she maintained her position.

He really wanted to tell her, but he couldn't be sure about where her loyalties lied. Master Cross always told him that all Enchanters eventually came to hate the Church, and thus most would disappear or be executed for treason.

There was a reason they had so few Enchanters, after all. Those who could left as soon as possible, but she stuck around long enough to work herself up to captain rank.

Something was binding her to the Church, and he seriously hoped it wasn't loyalty.

* * *

Lenalee was getting frustrated. Nothing was giving her any usable hints, and he was presenting her with one riddle after the other.

Apparently, it was never anybody's position to tell her anything.

Then, a metallic clang echoed through the room, tearing her out of her thoughts. She whipped her head around, only to find another hooded figure tampering around the cargo, which seemed to really be a machine.

She didn't have time to mentally scold herself for her carelessness, because her opponent under her suddenly tried to warn his comrade by yelling his name.

A name that made her freeze up.

"KOMUI!"

* * *

Allen felt all his effort go to waste when Komui accidentally made a loud noise. He was somewhat weakened, and it'd take her only a few seconds to apprehend him as well.

But, he'd still try to warn his partner to the best of abilities.

Shouting out his name, may not have been the smartest thing to do, but it was effective enough.

Not on the intended target though.

The captain holding him down suddenly stiffened, loosening her grip on him. Unsure of her sudden reaction, he still took the opportunity to flip themselves over, ignoring the pain in his abdomen.

He waited for her to kick him off, but she was still unreactive.

Instead, he saw the faint glimmer of tears on her cheeks in the dim light of the room. And one, short whisper.

"It can't be."

* * *

Lenalee barely took notice of how her back hit the ground, or how 'Allen' was now hovering over her. Or how she had begun shedding tears.

Her thoughts were calculating the odds of a parent naming their child 'Komui' on the western continents.

They were very low.

This guy was working on the machinery. Komui loved tinkering around machines. She remembered watching in awe as he'd repair small toys or so for the kids on the street, always with that bright smile on his face.

Could it be?

Was this what happened to her older brother?

She snapped back to reality when she felt the weight on top of her leave her. No, this was a pirate, not her gentle older brother.

She immediately tackled the white-haired male again, but somehow, she regretted her actions just second later.

But she needed to know.

* * *

Allen used the golden opportunity to escape, but couldn't help his heart growing heavy at the sight of her teary face.

A few seconds later, his face met the ground as he felt her push him to the ground. Then, she yanked his head up roughly and put her arm around his neck.

"Remove your hood and identify yourself. State your purpose or I snap his neck." She had demanded with a serious voice. He had no doubt that she would follow through with her threats.

He could only watch as Komui hesitated, but still moved to comply with her orders.

Something was off about him as well.

He grinded his teeth together. Where the hell were Lavi and Kanda when you needed them?

Her arm tightened around his neck once Komui took his hood off, but Allen found himself surprised at the shocked look of disbelief on his partner's face.

"I- I…" Komui stuttered, but couldn't get a coherent sentence out.

And once again, her tight grip on him loosened. Contrary to his expectations, she even stepped off him.

"Leave." She suddenly said forcefully. "Just… leave. Before I change my mind."

Allen didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed the shocked Komui and ran out of the room, still suspicious of her sudden change of heart. He could even see Kanda and Lavi running towards them in the hallway.

They met up, keeping explanations for later, since Komui was still in a dazed state and thus dumped over Allen's shoulder. Then he woke to reality again, and with the most heart-breaking despaired voice Allen had ever heard, he reached towards the direction they were running from and screamed.

"LENALEE!"

* * *

Lenalee choked a sob out when the faint sound of her name sounded through the room.

She would deal with Leverrier later. She would deal with all his bullshit. He had no power over her anymore.

Because Komui was alive and well.

* * *

Once the ship landed, she was faced with a very angry Leverrier. That was to be expected, after all.

"Captain Lee, I can't wait to hear your explanation for this mess." His face betrayed no emotion, but his eyes and voice were dancing with fury.

"I accept full responsibility." She answered calmly.

"You better." He snapped at her.

* * *

Allen did his best to relay what happened on the ship that caused Komui to sink into crippling depression.

The poor man had collapsed half-way through their escape, leaving them all to wonder what his connection to 'Lenalee' was.

Ever since waking up in the on-board infirmary, he hadn't eaten or said much.

One day, he came into the meeting room, still dressed in the sterile clothes the nurse forced him into.

"Was it all just a dream?" He muttered out loud before turning to Allen. "Was she really there?"

Allen nodded.

Komui cradled his face in his hands as distinct sobs escaped his mouth.

Lavi and Allen shared a look, then the white-haired boy put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Komui swallowed his next sob.

"T-They told me she was dead. That she died because she couldn't handle the Enchantments. T-That was why I decided I couldn't work for them. B-Because they killed my little sister."

Allen drew in a sharp breath. He could sense where this was going.

"B-But she was there, wearing their uniform, she was there." His voice sounded absolutely broken. "What am I going to do?"

"There's only one thing to do." Lavi suddenly spoke up. "We're gonna get her out of there. She's bound to be in serious trouble after letting all of us escape."

"He's right. She's your family, isn't she?" Allen agreed.

Komui looked at both of them with wide eyes. "You'd really do that?"

"Do you need to ask?" Lavi chuckled. "C'mon, Yuu, let's start planning Operation: Rescue Lena-Lady!"

Kanda merely grunted, but stood up. He, too, owed Komui a great lot.

* * *

They didn't even need to make use of Bookman's contacts to find out where she was. The Church made sure to make a public announcement that they would be executing a member of their ranks for high treason.

And that they were making a big gala for the rich and influential out of it.

On a fancy airship that was just begging to get taken over by a bunch of pirates.

* * *

Lenalee held her head high as she was led by the judgemental looks of the commoners and the passengers.

She didn't care whatever they were executing her for, she had figured out the puzzle herself.

Why her brother suddenly stopped visiting her, why he suddenly vanished.

It wasn't because he didn't care about her anymore. It was because they had told him something happened to her.

He had no reason to work for the Church, and suddenly, she felt glad. He looked healthy, well-fed, and he was obviously fighting for something he believed in.

She couldn't be happier, just as she couldn't be angrier at the Church.

If getting executed and thus removing their last remaining Enchanter was the price she had to pay, she would gladly do so. It would backfire on them a lot harder than they might think right now.

They dumped her into a cell in the lower parts of the airship, making sure she had it extra uncomfortable next to the hot steam engines.

But she didn't mind.

The next few hours slugged by slowly, filled with chatter and jovial music that filled the airship with life.

* * *

She knew the time had come when two soldiers came to get her. They were obviously unnerved by her calm demeanour and her acceptance of the conditions, but in Lenalee's mind, this was all payback for all the pain Leverrier had put her through ever since she was a little girl.

Her loyalty was firm, and it had never wavered. She just never had been loyal to the Church.

She had, however, always been loyal to her family.

They led her out in chains, like a disobedient dog. The condescending looks she received from all the spectators in their fancy dresses and gowns seemed laughable in her current state of bliss.

She saw the plank suspended over the edge of the ship and mentally shook her head. So old-fashioned, back from the time ships still floated on water. But it'd explain why they chose to confine her with these heavy chains. They must have thought it'd be enough to weigh her down and make her drown in the ocean below.

But she still stepped on it with confident strides. Leverrier gave her an openly dirty look. And she smiled back at him. He would regret this later on.

You don't just sacrifice your queen for a pawn, after all.

* * *

Komui felt consumed by nervousness after Lavi, Allen and Kanda departed.

Dragging them into his personal problems felt wrong, but he was also eternally grateful. Finding out Lenalee was still alive was a blessing and a curse. It made him realize that she must have suffered immeasurably, especially under Leverrier.

He remembered stiffening when Allen had been thrown to the ground and the unknown female had threatened to kill him, only to recognize Lenalee's features in the room's dim light.

Then, caught in the distant past, he heard a young female voice begging him to take away from that place.

He had heard about the skilled Enchanter Allen and Lavi had encountered, but that it was Lenalee all along made his heart ache.

He didn't even want to know what that bastard Leverrier put her through to get her to this level.

* * *

One of the noblewoman suddenly snapped at her waiter for saying something inappropriate.

The scene drew a lot of attention, and upon closer inspection, Lenalee felt as if she'd seen that redhead before…

At this point in time, she wasn't even surprised at the erratic chaos that erupted once a long-haired man pulled out a sword and demanded everybody put their valuables into a bag.

Nobody dared talk back to the grumpy-looking man.

Then Leverrier looked back at her, only for his face to grow even angrier. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm a pirate, stealing stuff and kidnapping girls is what we do best." A meanwhile familiar voice answered from behind her with a hint of humour.

* * *

Allen cut through her chains with his claw, then wrapped his arm around Lenalee's waist and took a step backwards, sending them both over the edge and making them airborne.

She let out a short shriek of surprise, locking her vibrant purple eyes with his. Soon enough she figured out what he had meant to do and took a firm hold of his arms, pulling him closer and guiding his arms over her shoulders before activating the Enchantments on her legs.

The adrenaline was still pumping wildly through their bodies, but their steep fall had been cushioned into a feather-light float thanks to Lenalee's abilities.

Allen, practically hugging her at this point, began laughing at the distant airship of the organization that she had once belonged to.

"You trust me too easily." She chided him, not quite believing her situation yet.

"Don't worry, I have every reason too." He grinned at her boyishly, prolonging her erratic heartbeat. He was looking over her shoulder, and glancing in the same direction she spotted the familiar airship that belonged to Marian Cross and his crew.

"After all, your big brother is waiting for you."


	4. Modern/Casino!AU: What Money Can And Cannot Buy

Another old man entering the building gave her a strange look.

Lenalee grumbled and checked her phone for the god knows how-many-eth time in the past fifteen minutes.

 _He's late._  She notes mentally, wondering, once again, if this really was the best way to deal with things.

 _Maybe he's not coming?_  Another part of her mind suggested, but Lenalee knew better. Lavi said he trusted this guy, so she really wanted to believe in him.

"Miss, are you going to come in?" The concierge asked her, probably for the third time.

"Uh, yes, I'm just waiting for someone." She replied quickly, trying to hide her nervousness. He gave her a suspicious glance, but nodded curtly and returned to his post.

She gulped, scanning the crowd for a head of white hair. The description Lavi had given her of his friend was about as vague as it got.

" _He'll meet you there. He has white hair, so you'll recognize him immediately, don't worry."_ He even had the audacity to wink at her after that statement.

Her heels tapped against the marble floor of the casino entrance as she anxiously smoothed the fabric of her simple evening dress.

The thing had been sitting around in her closet since a long forgotten, nightmarish high school prom night.

Her fingers clutched around the hem of her black jacket while she made random observations about the crowd around her.

That woman had an awful taste in fashion.

That one man's bow tie was crooked, but nobody seemed to point it out.

That other man looked like he just came out of a gangster movie, ready to rob the casino.

Finally, her phone buzzed, and in a hasty scramble of limbs and fingers she unlocked it and read the message, hoping it would be her mystery contact telling her he was late, or stuck in traffic.

Instead, it was only her network provider, reminding her that she had to prolong her contract. With a sigh, she stuffed the device back into her purse, not wanting to think about her financial problems. It wasn't her fault her brother lost that many investments overnight, making them plummet to bankruptcy in a frightening instance.

But that was why she was here today. After hearing about Lavi's magical gambling genius friend, she had jumped at the chance to make money. She didn't want to watch her brother's small tech company and its workers crumble even further under the heavy load of work on their backs. She was pretty sure Komui only slept mere hours per week.

The high heels she was wearing dug into her feet uncomfortably after all the standing she has been doing, and with every passing minute she felt like bailing.

The concierge shot her glances at given intervals, but she just swallowed her pride and remained right where she was.

Why did she insist on coming anyways? She could have just taken up the offer of receiving the winnings, but of course she wanted to be responsible and make sure the money didn't come out of any shady sources.

She gnawed on her bottom lip, forgetting about the lipstick she was wearing. Shuffling from one foot to the other in hopes of relieving her feet, she asked herself one final time whether this was a good idea.

"Excuse me? Are you Lenalee Lee?" A voice asked suddenly.

She snapped out of her thoughts, looking up at the source of the voice.

White haired guy? Check.

"Yes, that's me." The words tumbled out too quickly for her liking, but she played it off by offering a friendly smile.

The white-haired guy reciprocated it. "My name is Allen Walker. Lavi gave me a brief explanation of your dilemma."

"Oh, did he?" Lenalee asked, nervousness rising within her thoughts again. Lavi was terrible at paraphrasing things, so she wasn't sure exactly what he thought of her right now.

He nodded. "But first, I need to apologize for being so horribly late. I kinda… got lost." He chuckled bashfully, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

Lenalee blinked twice. "…pardon?"

Of all the things in the world, she would like to think that this guy could at least remember the location of the casino he seemingly frequented regularly.

"My sense of direction is god-awful, so I get lost everywhere, even in supermarkets." He explained, a hint of embarrassment in his surprisingly high voice.

If Lenalee had seen him anywhere else on any other day, she would have labelled him as the aloof, mysterious cool guy.

His white hair was an anomaly, and the eyepatch he wore over his left eye was only adding to the image. In fact, back in high school, half of the girls there would have swooned like crazy just going on his appearance. A deep voice would have completed the picture. Luckily, or rather unluckily, she had been friends with a certain flirtatious redhead for far too many years to be affected by things like that.

"That aside, how about we go in now? There's a poker table with our names on it." The last thoughts of a cool guy persona flew out of the window with the boyish grin that he gave her.

And she giggled. She couldn't help it, he was just… too honest.

Her doubts decreased with every step they took side by side, until she actually felt somewhat comfortable by his side.

Maybe she was just overthinking this.

* * *

Everybody knew him, she noted as they walked through the casino. She didn't frequent them very often, in fact this would probably be her second time in one, the first time being a bout of curiosity she and a friend had after turning twenty-one.

Her opinion of casinos was rather neutral, she didn't like nor dislike them, but if this one here could save her, she was ready to praise it for the rest of her life.

"So… how did you meet Lavi?" She attempted some small talk while they headed towards the poker area.

"Friends of relatives." He explained simply with a shoulder shrug. "It's kinda complicated."

Lenalee gave him a sympathetic smile. "Family always is, huh?"

The bartender gave Allen a short wave, which he returned.

"Wow, you really know everybody here, don't you?" She commented, gaze still lingering on the bartender.

He shrugged. "My guardian is tight with the owner, so I used to come here a lot when I was younger. I guess the habit just stuck."

She just nodded while he told her about some events from the past few years. He was extremely open, she noticed pleasantly.

She had been worried that there would be a stiff, awkward wall between them, but this guy was like a ray of sunshine.

She didn't realize the small smile that graced her lips the entire time.

When they finally reached the (gigantic, if she may say so) sign leading to the poker tables, the attendant there spared her a curious glance before leading them to a table, at which there were already three other men waiting.

"Ah, Allen is actually somewhat on time today." One of them remarked humorously, a smile tugging at the edges of his mouth.

Another one openly laughed.

The third one grinned teasingly. "Looks like the reason he's late today is for a more warranted reason."

The second one laughed again. "Now, Allen, why don't you introduce us to your lovely girlfriend?"

Allen chuckled light-heartedly, pulling out a chair for her. She accepted, surprised by his gentlemanliness.

"She's not my girlfriend, she's my lucky charm of the day." He shot her a grin with a smooth wink that would have made any other girl's heartbeat shoot through the roof. Good thing she was Lavi-proofed, meaning she could play it off with a smile and a wave of her hand.

In her mind, the poker match would be held under a really intense, heavy atmosphere, but this evening held one surprise after the other. The four of them seemed to be on rather friendly terms, judging by how they continued mercilessly teasing Allen for bringing a girl along.

It reminded her of a family teasing their son for having a girlfriend.

"Tyki, I guess you still lose the bet." The second one nudged the third one with a smirk. "Pay up, buddy."

"Tch," the third one clicked his tongue before fishing out his wallet. "I was hoping you'd forgotten about that."

"I can't believe you're still putting bets on my life occurrences." Allen sighed as he pulled out the chair next to hers and sat down as well. "Do I even want to know what it was about this time?"

The first man chuckled. "I don't think so. Let's finally get started, we should make use of Allen being here earlier than usual."

With a wave of his hand, a dealer came up to them and began shuffling the cards.

Lenalee didn't know much about poker, much less any other gambling game. The term 'poker face' and knowing what poker cards looked like was pretty much all she was going on.

She watched in awe and silence as all four of them sat up just a tad straighter, putting on their game faces.

Allen twirled one of the chips they had exchanged her money for at the entrance between his fingers, glancing at the others occasionally.

His own cards were lying in front of him, face down as he continued the small talk with the other three, occasionally binding her in.

The atmosphere wasn't oppressing, it wasn't suffocating. It was intriguing, watching the four of them immersed in their passion, studying each other calculatedly before carefully placing each bet.

Occasionally somebody would take another look at their cards, but they wouldn't let any unwanted emotion betray them. They continued chatting animatedly, Allen redefining the word 'poker face'. He was smiling and laughing, radiating an air of innocence as the mountain of chips in front of him kept growing in size.

* * *

Allen put his cards back on the table, feeling slightly sorry for Tyki, but the other man should already be used to losing to him.

Out of the corner of his eye he observed the Chinese girl he was supposed to help out. Lenalee Lee. According to Lavi her family got into some financial problems, and apparently they went to high school together or something like that.

His focus wandered back to the game as he took the pot.

Lavi usually never asked him for any favours, especially not these kinds. It wasn't that he minded, in fact he was quite pleased he could do something for a friend.

The thought that was bothering him was that a reasonable pretty girl like her was friends with  _Lavi_  of all people, Mister-I-flirt-with-every-female-being-in-my-vicinity. She seemed genuinely nice on top of all that, as well.

Having been around somebody like Marion Cross for a large portion of his life, Allen picked up a thing or ten about what girls want to hear or don't want to hear, but right now, under the preface of concentrating on the game, he had no idea what to say to her.

They held some pleasant conversation on their way through the casino, but it felt more like he was rambling while she remained silent.

He did not miss any of the suggestive eyebrow raises he received from the staff. Was him spending time with a girl really such an event?

He glanced at his newest cards, then at the first card that lied face-up on the table. No need for tampering again this round, it seemed. He'd have at least three of a kind.

His earlier words rang in his head, like a self-fulfilling prophecy.  _"She's my lucky charm of the day."_

He put his bet in the pot, wondering if perhaps she was really the reason for his abnormally grand luck today. He hardly had the need to cheat yet, and he was still winning, as usual.

The dealer flipped the second card, revealing the six of hearts, adding up with the six of spades next to it and the other two sixes that lay face-down in front of him.

Four of a kind.

Lenalee was busy watching them with interest, but he suddenly felt highly appreciative of her. Her presence was very… comfortable and soothing.

With a small smile, he continued round after round, until it was only Tyki and him, as usual.

The dealer announced the last round, and Allen peeked at the cards that were dealt to him. King of hearts and ten of hearts.

The first card on the table was turned around, Jack of hearts. He liked where this was going. He placed a generous bet, watching as Tyki gave him a short glare. Defiantly, the other male raised the bet.

The second card got flipped, Ace of hearts. Without hesitation, Allen complied to the raise and rose it even more.

Tyki gave him a suspicious look, as if he already saw his demise before his eyes, and decided to call, not quite ready to give up yet.

The third card got revealed, and Allen was about to ask Lenalee whether she would always accompany him in the future.

A Queen of hearts.

He already won this round. Not even bothering to hide his grin, he shot Tyki a devilishly smug look. "All in."

"You have got to be fucking kidding me." Tyki muttered as he discarded his hand. "Not fucking  _again_."

Allen's grin remained as he revealed his own hand. "Royal straight flush."

* * *

It took Lenalee a moment to register that he had won, and a bright smile grew on her face as she began to take in the amount of poker chips in front of him.

With these… her brother's company… everything… everything would be alright.

"Thank you." She breathed out once she got hold of herself again. She was holding a check with an unbelievable amount of zeroes, and she was not sure she could put her gratitude into words. "If there's anything I can do to repay you…"

They were standing in front of the casino, catching a breath of fresh air. The city's neon lights blended out the stars from the dark sky, but from certain angles you could still catch a glimpse of the moon.

"You should be careful whom you say that to." He joked with a chuckle.

She rolled her eyes, caught up in his flow of words. "I'd like to think you wouldn't ask me for anything like that."

He chuckled again, and Lenalee decided that she definitely liked the sound of it.

"Anything, huh?" He mumbled to himself. "How about…" His visible grey eye flitted over at her, something flashing in it. "How about… you come here again?"

Lenalee wasn't sure she heard correctly. "You… want to see me again?" Her mouth blurted out the way her mind had paraphrased his words.

"Yeah." He gave her a shy smile. "I'd like to see you again."

She was sure that there was a light blush on his visible cheek, but then again her heart was racing at paces she never knew were possible.

"Poker is intriguing." She finally said. "I think it'd be interesting to learn."

His smile grew into a grin. "It'd be my pleasure to teach you."

It was a genuine and honest smile, the kind that no amount of money can buy.

* * *

Lenalee locked her apartment door behind her, leaning against it and sliding down on the ground of the dark corridor.

Her first priority should have been getting out of those torturous heels, but she found herself putting her palms on her burning cheeks.

This one time, just this one time, she'd let herself feel like a giddy school girl with a crush on somebody.


	5. Modern/FreakCircus!AU: The Red On Your Lips

Lavi always dragged her around the weirdest places, she decided.

She had every reason to be suspicious of his intentions when he practically pushed her into the front seat of his car, and next thing she knew, they were driving through the outskirts of their hometown.

His mischievous grin couldn't mean anything good either.

"Are you kidnapping me?" Lenalee asked at some point.

Lavi gave her a side glance. "Don't you trust me?"

She glared at him, a certain event from their past coming to her mind. "No, I don't."

He chuckled. "C'mon, Lenalady, you know I'd never hurt you."

She frowned. "You've never hurt me, that's true, but I'm tired of getting pulled into your messy schemes."

A sigh escaped her lips as she leaned against the cold window. "Just tell me already."

"There's something special I'd like to show you." He answered mysteriously. Lavi and mystery were never a good combination.

"What's so special about it that you can't tell me?" She huffed in annoyance. "If you don't tell me, then you can stop the car and let me out here. I'll walk back home."

Lavi visibly blanched. "U-Uh, that's not necessary! Alright, I'll tell you."

She shot him an expectant look. "Yes? I'm waiting."

"It's a circus."

Her frown morphed into a look of disbelief. "A circus?" She repeated, just to make sure.

"Yeah." He answered, somewhat bashfully.

"Lavi, you do realize that we are 19, right?"

"I know, but it's really cool, I promise!" He insisted, but it still didn't sit well with her. Lavi never lied, but her gut was telling her that she shouldn't be doing this.

He parked the car on a lot that looked like it came straight out of a horror game. Not one of those cheesy ones, but the ones that left you afraid of everything.

It didn't help that the sun had already set and that the autumn air was filled with rising fog.

Loud chatter and obscure music filled the silence from a distance.

She wondered what the weird smell in the air was. It seemed familiar, yet unpleasant. As if she should be able to recognize it right away.

"C'mon, there's so much I want to show you." Lavi gave her a comforting smile, but it didn't help with her unease.

Hesitantly, she followed him, digging her hands further into the pockets of her hoodie.

"Isn't it just really awesome here?" He laughed, gesturing at the grand circus tent as well as the performers and visitors who had assembled around it.

"I don't know about this, Lavi." She sighed, hesitantly looking at the crowd.

"It'll be alright as long as you don't leave my side." He grinned at her, but she couldn't help but point out that that meant there was something to afraid of.

His hand suddenly wrapped itself around her elbow and he began pulling her somewhere. "Ah, there she is!" He exclaimed happily, and Lenalee only felt her hunches confirm themselves.

He was here for a girl.

It was always about some girl.

"Chomesuke!" He called out, waving excitedly with his free hand.

A brunette performer turned around and returned the wave, much to the dismay of the man she had been talking to until that point in time.

Once they were closer, Lenalee could make out the girl's features. She was pretty, too pretty for a dump like this.

Lavi quickly introduced her as his friend, and the brunette introduced herself as Chomesuke, a trapeze artist or the travelling circus.

After that, Lavi switched to flirt-mode. It was the usual scheme, it seemed. Lavi would bring her along to create a sense of a group, essentially making her his constant wing-woman.

Lenalee sighed.

She felt a pair of eyes on her. Turning around, scanning the crowd, her gaze suddenly locked with a clown's in the distance.

He gave her a shy wave, which she tentatively returned. Lavi was still busy speaking to the female performer, leaving her to her own accords.

While she was initially against this excursion, a bit of exploring wouldn't hurt while she was here, right?

Chomesuke was flirting right back at her friend, making her wonder why she even had to accompany him in the first place.

She began pushing through the crowd, eyes locked on the clown that had waved at her. As she closed in on him, she could see that he was happily playing with a dog. It was an adorable sight, making her lips tug upwards.

A man bumped into her, pushing her to the side roughly. She stumbled, barely managing to keep her balance.

When she looked up again to shoot the rude man a glare, he was already past her, walking straight into the direction she herself had been headed towards.

From behind, she could make out an obnoxious top hat, making her realize that the man had to be the ring master.

She clenched her fist in her hoodie pocket. The atmosphere suddenly grew even more uncomfortable, and she briefly wondered whether it wasn't just presumptuous of her to assume that the clown would want to talk to her.

An angry shout tore her out of her thoughts.

Before she could even blink, the ring master had taken a swing with his cane, and in one motion the clown was on the ground, coughing harshly.

The dog began barking angrily, but its howls sounded so distant, so far away.

The ringmaster's cane was in the air again, dropping down on the defenceless clown again.

Chaos erupted, causing the crowd to panic and run off in different directions.

Somebody was screaming her name.

She subconsciously felt Lavi's hand close around hers as he began pulling her away from the scene frantically, but she was still rooted by shock.

The unpleasant smell in the air reminded her a lot of iron. Like the iron in one's blood.

The image of the kind-looking clown, beaten down on the ground, coughing up crimson liquid once a kick landed on his abdomen, was burned into her mind, and she knew she'd never be able to forget it.

"Lena… I'm sorry about that, I swear, I didn't know…" His apology went past her ears.

The scenery passed by as she looked out of the window absentmindedly. Her thoughts were erratic, unfocused.

Suddenly, the bile in her throat rose.

"Lavi, stop the car. Now." She commanded. The moment the vehicle stopped moving, she tore the door open and regurgitated what little she had eaten that day onto the side of the street.

Tears escaped her eyes as a feeling of dread grew within her.

Almost as if she had just lost something irreplaceable.


	6. Fantasy/Dragon Slayer!AU: Light The Fire In My Heart (1/?)

With stealthy, small steps, the young woman approached the slumbering beast. She breathed evenly, inhaling and exhaling as quietly as possible. In a smooth motion, she drew the ominous dagger from her belt, and with a practiced slash, it was all over.

The beast didn't even have the chance to wail in pain and terror before falling to its demise.

The young woman pried the dagger out of the creature's abnormally large eye, only for a look of disappointment and worry to cover her features.

Her lips pulled into a tight line, and she disappeared from sight before anybody could see the tears trickling down her cheek.

* * *

"How are you feelin' today?" The old innkeeper asked her while setting a tray of food in front of her. Lenalee eyed the dubious-looking cheese, but decided not to say anything about it.

"I'm fine." She answered politely. It was a lie. Probably the most commonly told lie, and equally accepted lie.

The old woman nodded approvingly. "That's good to hear. A pretty girl like you deserves it." With that, she chuckled and disappeared back into the kitchens.

Lenalee watched her until she disappeared from her line of sight, then carefully scraped the cheese from her bread. With a sigh, she realized that the fried egg looked equally dubious. One of these days, she really had to find that scammer who was selling all these fake reptile eggs to all the merchants around here.

After she managed to somewhat successfully scrape most of the definitely non-edible substance off of her bread, she took a large bite off it. The rubbery taste of the faux eggs still lingered on it, but it was bearable.

"Hey, Lenalee! You've got to hear this!"

Lenalee groaned at the male voice that suddenly began calling out her name. When she said she was fine, it was obviously a lie. Was it too much to just ask for a bit of peace when she was obviously pissed?

"What is it, Chaozii?" She muttered, taking another bite from her bread, which now seemed like a blessing in comparison with having to deal with the other hunters.

"It's a rare one! It showed up in the Eastern Forests! They said it was a beautiful white one!" His excitement broke through his words, nearly drowning her in his positive attitude.

"I'll check it out later, Chaozii." She dismissed him before she started strangling him in order to shut him up. If he continued shouting out the information the Finders worked hard to gather, she was willing to bet a good sum of money the dragon wasn't going to be there once the hunter troop arrived.

He nodded eagerly before running off again, probably to tell all the other hunters about the newest dragon appearance.

"A beautiful, white dragon…" She mumbled to herself once she was alone again. Then she shook her head. It would probably just be a false lead again.

The crystal dagger at her hip gnawed at her soul, reminding her of her promise to it. She swallowed down the last bit of the bread and headed out of the inn after grabbing her jacket. It seemed like she had a long day ahead of herself.

* * *

Going with the hunter troop was something she would have liked to avoid, but she had trouble finding a suitable excuse that would still give her a good reason to be there at the same time as them.

"Oh my god, are you… like, the Lenalee?" A girl suddenly asked her, tearing her out of her thoughts.

Lenalee glanced to her side, looking at the female hunter out of courtesy. "Yes, do you need something?"

"Oh, I've heard so many stories about you! You were my biggest inspiration! Like the one time you defeated the Great Scarlett Dragon in the Northern City! You're a legend!"

The girl went on and on, but Lenalee found herself drowning out her pitchy voice in favour of watching the sun set on the horizon.

Yes, she fought many dragons. Yes, she slayed many. But it still wasn't enough. It was never enough. It would never be enough until she found it.

She wouldn't consider herself a role model, she wasn't something one should aspire to become. She was just a girl who stumbled upon a cursed dagger and was paying the price for it.

"Dragons are horrible creatures, so I decided I would rid the world of them, like you." The girl finished her speech, shooting Lenalee a bright smile.

Lenalee didn't return it. She couldn't. She stopped bothering to correct everybody's misconception of her a long time ago.

"Then I wish you a lot of luck." She replied politely in a neutral tone, hoping the girl would take it and leave.

Luckily, she did, and Lenalee was finally left to the solitude of her thoughts. They could never understand her.

* * *

"Alright, we'll set up our main camp here." The party leader announced after getting everyone's attention. "We'll split up into smaller groups and search for the dragon. Don't forget to be careful, and under no circumstances are you to engage it on your own, we're talking about S-Class magical beasts here." His eyes rested on a group of hot-heads in the front row who awkwardly rubbed the back of their necks.

"Hey, hey, do you wanna group up?" The same girl from earlier appeared out of nowhere, shoving the question in Lenalee's face.

Lenalee hesitated. She was actually going to disappear into the woods alone, like always, but how was she going to explain that to the girl who was obviously trying to imitate her? She sighed, deciding to take the responsible route this time.

"I don't mind." She answered evenly.

The girl squealed and began unpacking her tent with lively motions. Lenalee couldn't understand her enthusiasm, but proceeded to do the same.

She caught Chaozii shooting her a curios glance, but she dismissed it. She'd just have to make sure her search with the girl was uneventful.

* * *

Two days. Lenalee groaned out loud now that she was finally alone. Two entire days. That's how long it took for them to give up searching in this area and her to shake off the girl.

Lenalee stretched her arms towards the sky, lowering them while exhaling deeply. With her newly-found solitude, she headed down the small path she took notice of but purposely steered the others away from.

They could never know the truth.

Stray twigs occasionally got caught in her hair, but she forced herself through the shrubbery steadily, closing in on her goal. Somewhere, there had to be a clearing, probably protected by an illusion rune, but it had to be around here nonetheless.

With ease she hopped over a large branch, only to stumble upon landing. Her reflexes allowed her to grab on to something in her vicinity before the green beneath her feet shattered away.

Bingo. Had she not been hanging over a canyon, she would have let out a victorious laugh, but the situation was as it was.

She tightened her grip on the tree that saved her life and looked or the closest foothold. She had to start moving before the Rune Guardian who set up the illusion caught wind of her location. Thankfully, her agility came in handy for such purposes.

With a well-estimated swing she got herself onto safe grounds again, at least for now. Another look into the distance told her there was an upcoming crossing over the canyon, but it was probably booby-trapped.

Still, it was a good place to start. There had to be a fail-safe in the area, the caster would be stupid to not include one. She broke into a steady sprint, constantly keeping an eye out for further optical disruptions, avoiding the ones she spotted in time.

The crossing came closer and closer, and it was just a bit too inviting, confirming her suspicions.

She studied the surroundings before carefully approaching it. Of course, she could use one of her magic items to fly across, but the stale air in the area was probably due to an anti-magic component somewhere in the area.

She gnawed on her bottom lip, taking another look at the flimsy bridge. If she was fast enough… It would be risky, but it should be possible. And she already came too far to turn back.

With a deep breath, she crouched down, estimating the distance again. A leap of faith, ironically enough.

She felt the solid ground beneath her soles, and with full determination she began running. The moment she leapt off the ground, she exerted enough magic to give her the necessary push before it flittered away into the anti-magic barrier.

The landing was rough, and a bit too close to the edge for her liking, but once she slayed the dragon, she could easily find the Rune Guardian and force him to let her cross back.

There were a few more traps on the way, but an experienced hunter such as herself was quick to avoid them.

And soon enough, she found it. The most beautiful thing she had ever seen. It was resting in the shade of a cliff, but its stark white scales practically glowed, enveloping it an ethereal aura.

The dagger at her side responded with glee, and her fingers moved on their own to take it out of its sheath.

She knew there was no barrier of sort in the area, after all, dragons need the magic particles in the air to survive. Which meant there was nothing around that could stop her from casting a spell.

The corner of her lips tugged upwards as the dagger resonated with the magic in her veins. Finally, she would be free of this curse.

This one, this one would be the last one.

She'll have fulfilled her promise to the demons.

She'll be free.

The words for the attack spell rolled off her tongue in a rehearsed manner as she approached the slumbering dragon.

It'd be over quickly, she reassured herself.

The crystal blade glinted in the last bit of sunlight before she entered the shaded area, and she hesitated.

There was somebody else there.

All of a sudden the dragon awoke with a ground-shaking roar, and at the same time a mysterious figure suddenly pushed her to the side roughly, disrupting her spell. She hardly had any time to figure out what was going on, but she recognized that tell-tale ponytail right away.

"Kanda! What the hell are you doing?!" She called out to him, not even questioning why he was even here.

The dragon's roar continued in the background, but it was overshadowed by her old friend's angry voice.

"You're leaving!" He screamed at her, leaving no room for argumentation. His hand wrapped itself around her collar, and before she knew it, she saw the distance between herself and the white dragon growing larger.

"Kanda! Let go of me!" She struggled against his grip, but it was to no use. "Kanda!"

"Shut up, I'll be damned if you get caught up in this mess!" His voice was cold, but all the years they spent together taught her to hear out the undertones of worry in it.

"NO! You can't ignore me! I have to do this! It told me I had to!" She yelled back, shrugging off her jacket in a desperate attempt to escape his hold. "I have to do this!"

Kanda halted, her jacket still clutched between his fingers. "It?" His voice sounded icy-cold, all other emotions forgotten.

"You can't stop me from doing this! I was so close!" She screamed desperately, ignoring the cold air that was biting at her exposed skin. She whipped around, ready to sprint into the opposite direction again.

But Kanda was faster, wrapping his arms around her frame, effectively immobilizing her.

"If what you say is true, I have to do this. Sorry." She didn't even have time to blink before her world faded to black.

* * *

"Kanda!" His name left her lips in a furious scream, but she immediately felt dizzy after shooting up in an upright position like that.

It took her a second to realize that she was indoors somewhere. Was she back at the inn? Was it all a dream?

Her eyebrows furrowed when she didn't recognize the room. Where the hell was she?

A crash sounded from outside the door to the room, and she hesitantly stood up, walking towards it. Her fingers hovered over her blade, just in case.

She tore the door open, ready to confront whoever kidnapped her for whatever reason, but was surprised when she only found a white-haired male in the hallway who was currently sweeping up shards of broken glass.

An awkward, silent moment of him just staring at her later, he finally spoke. "Uhm, good morning?"

She blinked, trying to understand why he'd look as confused as he did. "Good morning?" She offered in response, her tone equally unsure. " Are you the owner of this house?"

He nodded, then frowned deeply, causing the scar on his left eye to move slightly as well. "I don't mean to pry, but, uh, how did you get in here?"

"I'd like to know that as well." Lenalee admitted with a sigh. "The last thing I remember… is…" She groaned, rubbing her temples in an effort to make sense of the fuzzy images.

The white-haired male was still studying her with a curious glance. "I'm more concerned about how you got in here. The only person who came by here just now was K-" His frown quickly morphed into a look of pure exhaustion.

"Please wait here." He told her, slipping past her into the room she awoke in.

* * *

Allen groaned internally. What on earth was Kanda thinking when he brought some random girl to his house? This location was supposed to be kept secret! His eyes scanned the room, until they landed on the white envelope that was obviously out of place in the room's arrangement.

He sighed, but opened it nonetheless. Maybe he should have just continued searching for another Rune Guardian instead of accepting Kanda's lacklustre offer, but they both had an ulterior motive they could only accomplish together.

_Don't let the girl out of your sight. She's cursed._

Allen eyed the piece of paper with a twitching brow, wondering why he felt so much hate towards the inanimate object. Just who was the master and who the servant here?

Leave it to Kanda to dump a girl with a cursed weapon in his house, unannounced, and leave him to take care of her.

One day, he was going to fire Kanda and look for an actually decent, respectful Rune Guardian.

He inhaled sharply, calming his nerves.

There was a pretty girl in the hallway, admittedly a girl with a crystal dagger designed to kill his kind, but a pretty girl nonetheless.

He hoped he still had some decent tea in the pantry.


	7. Greek Mythology!AU: Underneath The Pomegranate Tree

**(Hades/Persephone, if you wanted to know)**

"M-My Lady!"

Lenalee's patience was teetering on the edge of overflowing, so she merely sighed and continued her self-assigned quest of finding a way back home.

"My Lady! Please, return to the estate with me!" Lenalee stopped walking abruptly, whirling around to face the mousy girl who had been attending her ever since she woke up in this place.

"No." She growled out, before resuming her task, which involved threading through the muddy wastelands surrounding the lavish estate she was being kept in.

"Please! My Lady! How should I explain things to the Lord?!"

"There's no need to explain anything to him." She bit back angrily, dragging her heavy dress further through the mud with determined steps.

"My Lady!" The girl shrieked hysterically.

With another groan, Lenalee threw a poisonous look over her shoulder. "If your oh so good Lord is that desperate to keep me around, he can come here in person and start explaining exactly why I am here and where I even am."

"Eh, my Lady, you're in the Underworld right now." The girl explained timidly.

Lenalee stopped walking, taking another look at the ominous red hue the sky held. Of course it had to be the Underworld.

* * *

To say she was upset would be taking things lightly. She was way beyond upset.

The Lord who had taken her to his estate (kidnapped, more precisely) introduced himself as Allen Walker, the ruling God of the Underworld.

Not that that explained anything about her current predicament. Apparently he made a deal with Leverrier (that slimy bastard) to bring her to his realm, and to keep her here. She pulled her lips into a thin line at the memory.

She was not going to let that happen. A pang hit her heart when she thought about why her brother had agreed to such a thing, but she bit down on those thoughts, shaking them off with limited success.

Leverrier was good at sneaking around, and even Hevlaska wasn't omnipotent. Her brother probably didn't even hear about this until it was too late.

She let out a long sigh, then angrily pushed away the bowl of food that had been brought to her. She may not have recognized this realm right away, but she knew the rules. Once you eat something in the Underworld, you may never return to the surface.

Her stomach complained about the lack of nourishment, but she was determined to stand strong. No matter how good the food looked.

* * *

She could count the amount of times she had actually seen Allen Walker on one hand, despite having been here for quite some time. At some point she had stopped counting the setting suns, and had reluctantly accepted that her stay here was going to be longer than she would have liked.

So when he wordlessly led her out to the back of his estate one day, she was quite surprised to say the least.

"The maids told me you had a fondness for the plant in your room." He explained once they stood in front of the large empty landscape she had crossed on her first day here. His voice was monotonous, and he refused to meet her eyes.

"I'm aware of your nature as Goddess of Fertility," He continued, "So I thought you might be interested in turning this lot into a garden." His steely eyes were still trained on the vast emptiness, but Lenalee couldn't help but wonder what he was looking at.

She fidgeted with her fingers, unsure of how to respond. She didn't want to be here, that much was fact, and accepting his offer would only prolong her stay here. On the other hand, she missed her garden. She missed the signs of life when a flower bloomed for the first time, or a tree bore its first ripe fruit.

She really missed it, so much that she had nodded and given him a silent thanks.

Besides, it wouldn't hurt to leave a garden here for them, right?

* * *

One day, as she tended to a newly sprouted plant in her ever-growing garden, realization hit her. She didn't actually hate it here.

She halted her movements, frowning at the small green leaves of the young sapling. Why didn't she hate it here?

Her stomach growled, but she was so used to the sensation of being hungry that she ignored it, shaking her head at her epiphany. No, she didn't hate being here. But she didn't like it either.

"My Lady, what has you in such deep thought?" A voice broke her out of her thoughts, making her turn towards the dark-skinned man who was sporting a lop-sided grin.

"Good morning, Tyki." She greeted him politely. "As for your question, I believe that is none of your concern."

Her assigned gardener tapped his chin with a gloved finger, examining her face with a look of interest. "Hmm, that's a shame, I would have liked to know what my Lady is thinking about."

He laughed it off and walked past her, heading towards the fruit trees in the back. Lenalee's eyes lingered on his back a while longer, wondering when she stopped being apprehensive of the man.

The first time she had met him, she was suspicious of him from every angle imaginable, but now… now he was just a quirky man who somehow enjoyed gardening and card games.

Her eyes left his shrinking form, directing themselves back to the sapling in her hands.

She ignored the increasing comfort she felt in this realm.

* * *

The mansion was empty.

It had been, since the first day she had spent here. There were only a handful of servants and maids who scurried around daily, dutifully completing their tasks.

Lenalee adjusted the collar of her dress before heading down the corridor to access the garden. She spent most of her time in the garden, and as such she spent most of her time with Tyki.

As for Allen Walker… She still only saw him once in a blue moon, but according to the maids he was busy. Busy ruling the Underworld, busy governing the dead, busy doing something.

Not that she minded, they had yet to have a decent conversation with each other anyway. She didn't know what to make of the white-haired man, and why he even struck that deal with Leverrier in the first place, but she knew he didn't have any bad intentions towards her.

A distant sound of soft music notes filled the hallway, and she headed towards it, leaning next to the door as she did every time she heard that meanwhile familiar melody.

The sorrowful music resonated with her heart, and with a sigh she found herself wondering, once again, exactly what went through Allen Walker's head.

* * *

The first time it happened, she felt like she was intruding, as if she had seen something she was not meant to see. But it was all coincidence that led to her hiding behind a tree because she didn't know how to deal with the situation.

Allen Walker was striding through the garden, a small smile on his lips.

He was actually smiling. All she had ever seen was that neutral expression on his face, and the steely look in his blue eyes, so nothing prepared her for the sight of him smiling at the sight of her garden. She felt prideful that he appreciated it, but then she reminded herself that that was not her intention.

Her stomach rumbled quietly, just as it did every day.

* * *

She couldn't do this anymore. She couldn't stay here anymore.

Panic rose within her when she realized that she actually felt content in this place.

She had half a mind to storm into all of the rooms in the mansion, begging Allen Walker to let her leave, to let her leave so she wouldn't have to deal with her internal conflict.

But when she arrived in front of the music room, and those sad notes filled the air, she slid down the wall, her heartbeat a cacophony in comparison to the beautifully tragic piano.

She was afraid. She was afraid of letting this place into her heart. She was afraid of accepting Allen Walker as another person with a soul of his own.

She was afraid because she understood the undertones of loneliness that seeped through his piano.

She stayed there, leaning against the cold wall, surrounded by the music that made her mind ask questions she never wanted to ask.

* * *

She managed to pick herself back up when the song neared its end, and disappeared into the garden, as she always did. She brushed past Tyki, who shot her a confused look, and settled herself within the herb garden.

A loud groan escaped her lips, her mind tearing itself apart with the conflicting emotions ion her heart. She didn't need to ask why she was here anymore.

She knew.

It was because they were both lonely. Back in Olympus, she had her brother, sure, but besides him? No one, to be honest. They would all flatter her with beautiful words and ask for her blessing, and her brother would compare her smile to the bright sun that encouraged plants to grow healthily.

But deep down, Allen Walker's music had awoken that feeling of emptiness within her. Suddenly, she was glad he never made eye contact with her, because his eyes would have probably looked the same as hers, even if she didn't know it at the time.

She pulled her knees to her chest, a quiet sob escaping her throat.

* * *

"Ah, Allen was quite upset that you were so hell-bent on leaving, you know?"

Lenalee paused her steps, turning around to look at the gardener who started talking to her, but didn't say anything. She wondered how he knew that she was this close to marching across the vast lands again in a desperate attempt to get home.

Tyki put on a mischievous grin and gestured to the sky, or rather what was above her. "Your precious plants will miss you dearly if you go now. Won't you reconsider, my lady?"

She followed is line of sight, her eyes meeting the luscious pomegranate tree she planted here. Had it already been that long since she first came here?

Then she reached upwards, gently plucking a ripe fruit from the branches and examining it. It was beautiful, just like she remembered it.

Her lips thinned into a straight line. "I don't have to do anything I don't want to do." She spoke with determination. The whimsical feelings that went through her head and heart had settled down with her acceptance of them. She was aware of them to the fullest, as well as the one thing she never thought she would develop.

A sudden desire to stay here, to see the God of the Underworld smile again.

Tyki tilted his head to the side, playfully tossing his gardening shears from one hand to the other. "Is that so, my lady?"

She nodded firmly, breaking the pomegranate open with all her might. The crimson juice spilled over her fingers, and she dug out a handful of seeds, holding them out to Tyki.

"I'm my own person. I won't listen to you, nor Leverrier, nor will I listen to what Allen Walker tells me to do. I will listen to my soul." With that, she smiled and brought the pomegranate seeds to her mouth, savouring the sweet taste of them, her stomach soaring at the sudden sensation of food after being deprived of it for so long.

Tyki was staring at her wide-eyed, mouth agape. "Did you just- but wh- how" He stumbled over his words, stuttering wildly. He dropped the trimming shears onto the ground, where they lay forgotten.

"I told you, I am my own person. Is it so hard to believe I'd stay here on my own accord?" She gave him a hard look.

Tyki finally got a hold of himself again, letting a smirk flit onto his lips, which quickly morphed into fully blown out laughter. "What a pleasant surprise you've proven to be, my lady!" He exclaimed over his laughter.

Once it died down, a serious expression washed over his face. "What made you change your mind?"

"That's not for you to know." She replied calmly, taking in another mouthful of the sweet pomegranate seeds.

"Oho? Regardless, Allen will be quite pleased by your decision."

"Do I need to repeat myself? I'm doing this for myself, not for Allen." It wasn't the truth, nor was it a lie.

Everything played a part in her reasoning, but mostly it was because she wanted to see whether she could be a shining sun in this dark place. To see whether she could one day figure out what goes through Allen Walker's mind. To see whether they could look each other in the eye one day, as two people who, despite not interacting much, fully understood each other.

* * *

"I'm sorry." He said. No premise, no other explanation. "I'm sorry for keeping you here against your will."

His blue eyes met hers for the first time, and she was stunned into silence. What had brought on this sudden change of demeanour? And right after she had made up her mind to stay here?

"You can leave, if you want to. I won't stop you, even if you did eat the food of this realm." He spoke solemnly, but earnestly.

The air between them was thick and heavy. Going back? To Olympus? Being able to her brother again? He'd really do that?

"Thank you." She answered after a long pause. Her heartbeat sped up, and her fingers quivered slightly. "I appreciate it."

"Will… will you come back?" He asked silently, keeping the distance between them, tones of abandonment and fear leaking into his words. He asked the question so quietly that she nearly didn't hear it. But she did.

Lenalee straightened her posture, then let a smile bloom on her face. The first genuine one since she was brought here. "My mother once told me that when you catch a butterfly, you cannot force it to stay by your side. However, if you release it and it comes back to you regardless, then it is truly yours."

His eyes widened at her words, and her smile grew. "Allen Walker, I promise that I'll be back."


	8. Fantasy/Dragon Slayer!AU: Light The Fire In My Heart (2/?)

Lenalee gently sipped the tea, noting its pleasant flavour. The white-haired man sitting across from her mirrored her actions, a thoughtful frown resting on his face.

"I… I'm not sure how I should say this without it coming off the wrong way, but… well,…" The man began awkwardly after setting his tea cup down. "The thing is, my R-, er, associate brought you here, probably against your will, I'm aware, but if you'll hear me out, I'm sure we can come to an agreement."

Lenalee furrowed her eyebrows. "By associate, do you mean Kanda?"

"Oh, so you two know each other? I wasn't too sure, so I didn't want to jump to conclusions." He gestured wildly with his arms. "Eh, sorry. I don't get many visitors." He explained sheepishly.

Lenalee set her tea cup down as well. "I can tell. Speaking of which," She glanced out of the window. "Where is this place? The last place I remember being in is a large valley."

"We're a bit further up north." He supplied, not going into details. Lenalee narrowed her eyes at him.

"You're hiding something from me." She accused him.

He stiffened visibly. "I think you'd rather not know."

"I think that's for me to decide, thank you very much."

When he looked off to the side, vehemently refusing to answer, she let out a long sigh. "Fine, say I won't like it, how do you know Kanda? It took me two straight months of pestering him until I could hold a decent conversation with him."

He laughed awkwardly. "It's complicated. Let's just say we have a common goal."

"I don't buy it." She frowned at him sceptically. "Kanda was defined by not having a goal in life."

The white-haired man's smile slipped off his face in an instant. "A lot of things happened." He said coldly, surprising Lenalee with his sudden change of demeanour.

He ran his hand through his white locks, groaning in frustration. "Look," He turned back to her with a serious voice. "I know you're not going to like this, but I'm going to cut straight to the chase."

He tapped the surface of his coffee table. "I need you to put your crystal dagger here."

Lenalee instinctively hovered her hand over its pouch. "How do you-"

"Please." He dropped the friendly act completely, giving her more of a command than asking her.

She grimaced, but pulled the dagger out and placed it on the table.

"Please let go of it." He asked of her, to which she simply shook her head.

"Not until you tell me what's going on. As well as why there are no magic particles in the air."

He pulled his lips into a thin line. "I'll tell you once you let go. Consider it a safety precaution."

"Exactly how is me giving up my weapon a safety precaution?" She scoffed. "I'll be left completely defenceless if I can't even use magic."

"You'll understand." He insisted, putting his hand over hers and prying her fingers off the dagger one by one. "I need to make sure the crystal doesn't consume you."

She froze at his words. "You know what it is?" She looked at him in disbelief, then back at the dagger, which was now out of her grip.

"Yes." He sighed. "But before we get to that, I need to ask you some questions. How well do you know Kanda?"

"I'd like to say I know him pretty well." She huffed. "We grew up in the same orphanage, after all." Her lips thinned. "He was like a second older brother to me."

"Sorry, let me rephrase that. Do you know who Alma Karma is?"

"Who?" Lenalee raised a brow. "Am I supposed to know who that is?"

The white-haired man gave her an unidentifiable look, then let out a long sigh and ran his hand through his hair. "It would've been easier if you knew who he was, but it's okay. We have time."

In a gentlemanly fashion he refilled her cup of tea before continuing. "Are you aware of how magic works?"

She gave him an incredulous look. "Do I- Of course I know how magic works!"

He shook his head. "I'm not talking about spells and runes, I'm talking about the magic."

Lenalee glowered at him. "You mean the magic particles?"

"Do you think they are endless? What do you think happens to magic particles when they are used for a spell? What is an anti-magic barrier even?" He elaborated, making wild hand gestures. "That's what I'm talking about."

"In that case, no." She admitted. "I don't know how that works. I never had the need to think about it until now."

"You might want to start changing that point of view from now on."

* * *

This was a lot harder than he thought it'd be. Honestly, how difficult could explaining his dilemma be?

He chastised himself mentally, he should have thought this through a lot better before doing this. At least the dagger was on the table, but who knew how fast her reflexes were.

"When we make use of magic particles…" He started, going over the words in his mind, "… we create a distortion in the natural magical field. This distortion tries to fix itself and the energy released by the natural counterbalance is what we call magic. Spells and runes give the energy a shape and purpose, but effectively it's just a mass of energy"

The girl was looking at him sceptically. "I'm assuming this has something to do with your explanation."

"It does." He assured her. "Next question: Do you know what a Rune Guardian is?"

"A person who protects either a large magical reservoir or a large magical beast." She recited dutifully. "Anybody in my business knows this stuff."

"Ah, yes, your… business." He glanced at the dagger on the table. "That's correct. However, do you know how one becomes a Rune Guardian?"

The girl looked like she was about to say something, but chose not to in the end.

Allen took this as a sign to go on. "There is always a constant number of Rune Guardians in the world. That's because you can only become one by inheriting the title from another Rune Guardian."

The girl grimaced. "How do  _you_  know all this?"

"Kanda told me." Allen took a sip of his tea, watching her reaction.

She frowned deeper at the piece of information. "Why does  _Kanda_  know all this?"

Allen put his cup back on the table with a grim expression. "Because he is a Rune Guardian."

Her frown turned into an expression of disbelief and anger. "What?!" She stood up abruptly, slamming her palm on the coffee table. "Is that supposed to be some kind of joke?!"

His face remained serious. "No, it's not a joke."

She pressed her lips together, forming a thin line. "I hope you have a very,  _very_  good explanation for that."

"I do, but I need you to calm down and listen to me."

Anger danced in her eyes, but she complied reluctantly and sat back down. "Go on."

"Next question." He hesitated for a split-second. Hopefully this wouldn't completely backfire on him. "Do you know exactly what this is?"

He tapped the surface of the table, a few inches from where the dagger lay. She stiffened visibly.

"A crystal dagger." Her words came out awkwardly. "It… it's a very powerful weapon that's very useful in my busine-"

"I'm sure that's what you tell yourself." He cut her off coldly. "But you clearly don't believe that yourself."

She gulped. "It's… a curse. It… it hurts." The last syllable left her lips in a nearly inaudible whisper, her pride clearly wounded.

* * *

Lenalee didn't know why she said that out loud. She had never told anybody else before, not even her brother.

"I'm not going to ask you to tell me how you got it, but know that there are others like it out there."

She froze. Others… there were others being driven insane by that small voice telling her to do things?

"Your business…" He continued talking. "I assume you're one of the more prominent dragon slayers out there?"

Her fists clenched at her side. "So what?! I'm not particularly proud of it, you know?" She bit back rudely, much in contrast to the polite personality she usually displayed.

"Relax." He looked her in the eye. "I'm not accusing you of anything."

She couldn't read him at all, she realized with an unsettling feeling in her stomach. His eyes were as clear as a summer sky, but they were equally blank as well.

He took a sip of tea, probably waiting for her to calm down. That was like asking the impossible of her, to be honest. Her heart was hammering in her chest, droplets of sweat forming on her brow.

She was anxious, she didn't feel safe here.

The lack of magic particles in the air was getting to her slowly, making her twitchy.

He was examining her, she noticed a few seconds later. He was watching her, adding to the unease she felt.

"What is it?" She asked in defeat.

"You actually don't really know a lot, do you?" There was a flash of pity in his eyes, only further enticing her anger.

"How should I?! Nobody ever tells me anything!" She stood up in a flash, slamming her palm on the table for good measure. In the same instance, she started feeling dizzy. Clutching her head, she felt herself stumble.

Her vision blurred, and…

* * *

Allen watched the girl slump into Lavi's arms.

"That was overkill." He remarked with a sigh.

Lavi, who had snuck into his house somehow (Allen made a note to change the locks one of these days), shrugged and eased the girl's limp body onto the couch. "She was already showing signs of magic withdrawal. Besides, I don't think we shouldn't tell her about Alma and… you, at least not yet."

"If you had been in my position, you would have tried explaining things to her as well." Allen crossed his arms and gave the redhead a knowing look. "You can go ahead and try denying it."

"I'm not going to deny it." Lavi reassured him. "But I'm not sure I understand what's going on. Yuu just showed up out of nowhere and told me to get some food and come here."

"According to her, she's an old friend of Kanda's. From before Alma." The white-haired male supplied, setting another tea cup on the table.

Lavi settled into one of the armchairs and helped himself to some tea. "Must've been rough to see her like this…" His green eyes trailed to the ominous dagger on the table. "Especially with everything that's happened."

Allen let out a groan. "I can't even be mad at him for this, even if it's probably out of our capacity."

"It just shows how bad things really are." Lavi looked into the reflection in his tea cup. "None of them realize what's going on."

"Well, the church and the nobility are doing their best to keep this a secret." Allen added bitterly. "All while selling it as part of their grand protection scheme."

Silence settled between them, and the redhead gave the slumbering girl a thoughtful look. "Do you think she's heard the voices yet?"

"Judging by her reaction, probably. But I don't know how much she's heard."

"Hey, Allen…" Lavi's voice turned dead-serious. "Do you think she'll help us?"

Allen knotted his fingers together nervously. "I don't want to involve any more people in this, you know that."

"I do, but I also know that we need more people if we want to make this work." He pressed on. "And she's like a god-sent candidate."

Allen untangled his fingers again. "I'll think about it while I make us something to eat. Look after her." With that, he stood up and disappeared into the kitchen.

* * *

It wasn't the least bit surprising when Kanda entered his house later that evening, and Allen wondered whether it was odd that he was used to the two of them coming over at random times. At least he was somewhat prepared for it this time.

"Care to explain where you ran off to?" He inquired darkly. "Right after leaving an unannounced guest here, might I add?"

"I had to check some things." Kanda replied curtly.

Allen glowered. "And those things couldn't have waited until you told me there was an unconscious girl in the living room?"

"No." Kanda answered calmly. He glanced around the corridor. "Where is she now, by the way?"

"Unconscious, in the living room." Allen paused, then added, "With Lavi."

In the span of a second, Kanda had given Allen a murderous glare as well as torn open the door to the living room, ready to shout at the redhead in it.

"Relax, Yuu, I didn't do anything." Lavi drawled lazily, flipping another page of the book he was reading without looking up. "I even put a blanket over her, because I'm such a gentleman."

Silence hung in the air, the only audible sound the rustling of paper as Lavi flipped another page.

"Why did you bring her here?" Lavi broke the silence, putting the book down onto his lap. "If you only wanted to keep her safe, there would have been more effective ways to do it."

"I'm not going to tamper with her memories." Kanda grunted in response.

"But it would have been safer than getting her involved with us."

Kanda didn't say anything in reply, merely giving the redhead a death glare.

Allen sighed and stepped between the two of them. "Step down. We're going to discuss what to do now, anyways."

"Whatever, beansprout." The long-haired man huffed.

"Don't call me 'beansprout'."

"Allen's height aside, what are we going to do about her?" Lavi interrupted their banter which was sure to turn into a fight.

"First of all, we need her to get used to the magic particle-free environment." Kanda started off, much to the surprise of the other two.

"So you want to involve her in this?" Allen concluded grimly. "I hope you know what you're doing…"

"She's a very skilled fighter." Kanda explained. "We could really use somebody like her."

"What's her name, anyways?" Lavi wondered out loud. "I don't think anybody's told me yet."

Allen opened his mouth to answer, only to realize that he didn't know it either. Reluctantly, he turned to Kanda for the answer.

"Lenalee Lee." Kanda said. "Her name is Lenalee Lee."

"Oh." Lavi's face fell. "Oh. Surely you don't mean the Lenalee that slayed the Great Scarlett Dragon?"

"They're the one and the same."

Lavi glanced over his shoulder at the sleeping form of one of the most renowned dragon slayers in their land.

"Oh."


	9. Fantasy/DragonSlayer!AU: Light The Fire In My Heart (3/?)

Kill them.

_Kill them._

Kill them all.

_KILL THEM ALL!_

Lenalee snapped her eyes open, a loud gasp escaping her throat. The unfamiliar ceiling threw her off at first, but she slowly recalled the events that preceded her little… nap.

"Oh, looks like Sleeping Beauty is finally awake." Lenalee blinked, then looked around for the source of the unfamiliar voice. After swerving her head around multiple times, she finally spotted the red-haired man sitting in an armchair a good distance away.

She frowned at him. "Who are you?"

The man snapped his book shut and gave her a confident smirk. "The name's Lavi."

"But you can disregard him, since he's an idiot." Another voice cut in, drawing their attention. Kanda stepped into the room, a scowl on his face.

"That's mean, Yuu." Lavi pouted, crossing his arms.

"Shut up." Kanda muttered, then proceeded to ignore the other man. He sat down in the chair opposite of the couch Lenalee was lying on and sighed loudly.

"Kanda." She greeted him apprehensively. She was still extremely confused, and she also didn't know how to feel about the fact that she was alone in a house (as far as she knew) with three men.

"Lenalee. How are you feeling?" He asked her, his tone unbetraying of any emotion.

"I've been better." Lenalee answered vaguely. As much as she may have trusted Kanda a long time ago, things were different now.

"You shouldn't move too much." He told her when she made a move to get up. "Your body is still going through magic withdrawal."

"Magic withdrawal?" She rose a brow, ignoring the headache that was making itself more evident by the second. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's exactly what it sounds like." He replied gruffly. "I put up an anti-magic barrier around the house. You're used to having a constant supply of magic particles around you, and now you suddenly don't. Your body is still getting accustomed to it."

She frowned. "I've passed through many anti-magic barriers, and I think I would have noticed something like this already."

Kanda shook his head. "Prolonged exposure is something else."

Her brows remained furrowed. "Are you finally going to tell me what's going on?"

Kanda remained silent for a second, exchanging glances with the redhead at the side of the room. His eyes shifted back to her. "Yes, but I think you should eat something first."

On command, her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten anything in a long time. She remained skeptical, but didn't complain.

Kanda turned his head to the doorway. "Oi! Beansprout! Bring some food, will you?" He shouted rudely.

A few moments later an annoyed white-haired man pushed the door open with his shoulder, balancing a tray in his arms.

"What did I say about calling me beansprout? You're such a pain in the ass." He grumbled, setting the tray down on the table, next to her dagger.

Her eyes widened upon realizing that it was still there.

"I promise, there's nothing weird in there." He pouted, having misinterpreted her facial expression.

Hesitantly, Lenalee picked up the fork and spoon. "Aren't you going to eat as well?" She asked, glancing at the three of them.

"We already ate." Kanda answered sharply. "Now hurry up and eat."

She shot him a look, more out of an old, ingrained habit than intention, and began eating.

"It's good." She remarked after chewing on the first spoonful.

The white-haired man stemmed his hands on his hips. "At least  _somebody_  knows how to appreciate my cooking, unlike  _certain_  people I know…"

"Oh great, humble Lord Allen," Lavi lazily drawled. "The mighty cook of this abode, won't you bring some of that godly pudding from the kitchen."

"Get it yourself." Allen huffed, taking a seat next to Kanda.

Muttering beneath his breath, the redhead disappeared through the door. An awkward silence settled over the three remaining occupants of the room as Allen and Kanda watched her like a hawk while she was eating.

She frowned. "Are you… waiting for something to happen?"

"We're waiting for you to finish eating so that I can finally explain what the plan is." Kanda replied, tone impatient.

"Don't be so rude to her, she's still our guest." Allen whispered to Kanda.

"I'll do whatever I want to, Beansprout." The long-haired man shot back, both glaring at each other.

"Do I need to remind you whom this house belongs to?" Allen gritted out between his teeth.

"Do I need to remind you how helpless you'd be without me?"

Lenalee began shoveling the food, just to give the two a reason to stop bickering.

"I step out of the room and the two of you are at each other's necks again." Lavi shook his head as he put a spoonful of pudding in his mouth. "You're behaving like little children, you know?"

"Nobody asked you, you stupid rabbit." Kanda practically growled.

"I'm done!" She exclaimed suddenly, louder than she had planned to. It had the desired effect, however, with all three men now looking at her and her empty plate.

"Oh, eh, right." Allen picked up the tray and left the room once more.

Kanda folded his arms over his chest. "I'm going to tell you a lot of things now. Don't freak out, and don't ask any questions until I'm done, got it?"

She actually had a lot of questions, but she complied and nodded.

One finger outstretched, he pointed at her. "You're a Dragon Hunter."

He pointed to himself. "I'm a Rune Guardian."

Then he gestured to Lavi. "He's an idiot. He calls himself a wandering mage or whatever, but he's just an idiot."

"Hey!"

Ignoring Lavi's outburst, Kanda pointed behind himself with his thumb, towards Allen who had just stepped back into the room. "And he's a dragon."

Lenalee's mind went blank. "What?"

"No questions, remember? Now, back on topic. We haven't seen each other in a long time, and the Church is pretty crafty when it comes to covering things up, so I can't blame you for not knowing."

Allen sat back down on the couch, a tray with tea in his hands. He poured her a cup while Kanda continued talking.

"We don't have time for the details of what happened, so I'll limit things to what you need to know. Dragons are cursed humans. Your cursed dagger resonates with the dragon's curse. The church and the nobility are spreading false rumours about this because they fear the dragons and hope to eliminate them so that they can hold the power monopoly."

"Yuu, I think that was a bit too vague." Lavi spoke up worriedly. "You should give the girl more details."

"No, that's enough." Kanda turned back to her. "We are part of a group that plans to stop the church's plans. Now, I'll escort you back into the nearest town."

"What?" She asked again, even more confused now than she was before he started 'explaining'.

"It would be suspicious if a prominent figure such as yourself suddenly dropped off the face of the earth. At the same time, your status will be quite handy for us." Kanda went on, having stood up and handed her back her dagger.

"Wait, I never agreed to any of this!" Lenalee cried out, but Kanda was already dragging her through the door.

"We decided for you already." Kanda informed her. "It was either this or I rewrite your memories."

She stiffened at that. "Y-You can do that?"

"Magic is capable of nearly everything, don't underestimate it."

Lenalee, dug her heels into the ground. Sure Kanda was always an angry, cold child, but this… this wasn't the Kanda she remembered.

"No!" She pulled her wrist out of his grip, painfully so. "I won't do anything until you explain what's going on. And I mean exactly what's going on."

He glowered at her.

"I have questions. So, so many questions." She straightened her posture, meeting Kanda's cold stare head-on. "But first of all, who is Alma Karma?"

The name had remained in her mind after Allen mentioned it the last time. Although she had no context, it was evident that it meant  _something_.

Kanda froze, anger burning in his eyes. "How do you know about that?"

"I told her." Allen confessed, stepping into the hallway with Lavi in toll. "I think she deserves to know."

"Whatever." Kanda snarled, disappearing into one of the other hallways.

Letting out a long sigh of relief, Allen looked at her. "If you'll come back in, we'll tell you the rest. Let's just… leave him alone for now."

Following the two of them, she threw one last glance in the direction that Kanda disappeared into.

* * *

"Please excuse him, it's a touchy subject for him." Allen began once they were all settled back down in the living room.

Kanda was a pain in the ass to deal with, but Allen couldn't really blame him either. All of them went through more than they ever should have, but Kanda probably got the worst out of all of them.

"Alma Karma was Kanda's friend. A really, really good friend." A pause. "He was also a dragon."

"About that…" Lenalee interrupted somberly. "Are you… really…?"

Allen chuckled heartlessly, looking off to the side. "It must be weird at first, but I'm sure you'll get used to it."

She stared at her palms. "But I always thought that dragons needed magic particles to survive. And… and…"

"We turn into our cursed forms when we are exposed to magical particles. That's why there's a barrier around the house." His hand made a circular motion. "And yes, all the other dragons you slayed were humans as well."

"You look pale." Lavi remarked evenly. "Do you suddenly regret your actions now that you know something you didn't before?"

Lenalee pulled her lips into a thin line, not answering. However, true to Lavi's words, she was as white as a sheet of paper, a tinge of green visible on her face.

"Wouldn't it be the same as killing an enemy soldier on the battlefield, only to find out that he had a loving wife and a child afterwards?" Lavi drawled on, raising a brow at her. "Or is there a difference?"

"Lavi…" Allen sighed, hoping the redhead wouldn't push things too far.

Lenalee clenched her fists tightly, her brows furrowing. "There is no difference." She said firmly, her voice calm. "I have a lot of blood on my hands, I know that."

Lavi nodded approvingly at that. "Good, I just want to make sure we're on the same page. Your name is held in high regards as a ruthless hunter, after all."

* * *

Lenalee felt troubled. And ashamed of herself.

Even if dragons hadn't been humans, how was she able to justify killing them off for a bounty all these past years?

Deep down, she knew she couldn't blame the dagger. It had been a whisper at the back of her mind, an enticing voice, but ultimately she was the one who was weak and gave in to it.

She even had the nerve to cry when she slayed dragons.

She slapped herself across the face, much to the surprise of the other two in the room. Taking a deep breath, sorting her thoughts and pushing aside her self-pitying notions, she looked back at them, ignoring the sting in her right cheek.

She was Lenalee Lee. She was a fighter. Her name was feared in the entire land. She wouldn't crumble because of a curveball like this.

"Sorry. Please go on." She told them. Her mind was clear now, ready to absorb all information they presented her with.

Allen cleared his throat awkwardly before continuing. "Back to Alma. I'm sure you can imagine what happened to him eventually."

"He was slain." Lenalee concluded.

"Brutally so." Allen confirmed. "It was a party of church officials who first took down Alma's Rune Guardian, then Alma himself. We don't know exactly what happened, but Kanda was there to witness everything." He seemed to hesitate for a second. "He doesn't talk about it, not to anybody. The only reason we know what happened is because Master Tiedoll told us."

Ah. She felt for Kanda, she really did. Kanda didn't have many friends to begin with, but after hearing that… She wondered what would have happened if she had stayed. Would she have been able to prevent it from happening?

Probably not.

Kanda… Kanda just kept getting the short end of the stick, it seemed.

Her mind went over the information, coming to a halt at the sound of an unfamiliar name. "Master Tiedoll?"

"The Rune Guardian Kanda inherited his title from." The white-haired man elaborated.

"An old man that only wanted to settle down and paint away the rest of his days." Lavi chipped in, a fond smile on his face.

"I see." Lenalee acknowledged to story.

"What do Rune Guardians do when they're… unemployed?" She inquired afterwards. God knows how many Rune Guardians she's left behind in the middle of nowhere, never having given it a thought before.

"They look for new employers." Allen explained. "That's how Kanda came here. Of course, it helped that I have a personal bone to pick with the church, but a Rune Guardian without anything to guard is worthless."

"I think Allen told you this already, but there's always a constant amount of Rune Guardians. However, the amount of things that need to be guarded fluctuates greatly over time. That's where people like me come in." Lavi grinned lazily, pointing a thumb at himself. "We're bookmen. We record this kind of stuff."

"He makes it sound valiant, but he's only here for the free food." Allen sighed distastefully.

With that, the tense atmosphere in the room suddenly vanished as Lenalee suppressed her laughter. Lavi was gaping at Allen, who had just talked about the other as if he were a stray mutt.

Her laughter ended up coming out as a series of coughs, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"S-Sorry," She whispered hoarsely, trying to behave more appropriately, as she was raised to.

The redhead was pouting at her with an insulted look on his face, which in itself was almost enough to make her laugh again.

Calming herself, attempting to keep a serious expression on her face, she smoothed the fabric of her shirt. "Kanda… he said something about me becoming part of a group or so. What's that about?"

Lavi and Allen exchanged glances. "You could say that we're… a rebellion of sorts. The church is withholding a lot of information about magic from the public, and they have the nobility supporting their efforts." Lavi began.

"This system creates people like you… professional hunters. They pay you the bounty after you took care of their problems. I can only assume that you must be quite wealthy."

"Moderately." Lenalee supplied. "If I actually saved all the money, I would probably have quite a lot, but I do a lot of travelling so most of my money goes to paying hotel fees and living expenses. Additionally, equipment and rune books are quite costly as well."

Allen nodded. "That's how they keep the money in circulation. The merchants end up paying their fees to their respective lords and the nobility is the one bathing in money at the end of the day. Ultimately, it's a win-win situation for them no matter what happens."

Lenalee cast her eyes downwards. "I never thought about it… I just accepted things the way they are."

"Well, we can't blame you for that." Lavi shrugged. "A good majority of the population does that as well. It's easier than questioning everything, and as long as they don't think that their living conditions are worth complaining about, they won't."

"True." She agreed reluctantly. "I can't really complain about my lifestyle."

"But I can." Allen gestured to himself. "Having hunters show up every so often is really annoying. I'm really glad Kanda's so good at using illusions."

"Even if he does use them on us sometimes." Lavi muttered under his breath, disdainfully.

Lenalee chuckled sadly. "I really was quite privileged, wasn't I?"

"Don't say that. I'm sure you had your share of hardships as well." Allen smiled softly. "Otherwise you wouldn't have that."

She took the dagger into her hands, clutching it firmly. It was silent, but Lenalee could still hear its tantalizing words at the back of her mind.

* * *

All in all, it was a lot of information to digest.

Lenalee pushed another branch aside as she followed Lavi through the maze of trees, taking in the scenery.

"Don't bother remembering what it looks like. I have the feeling Kanda takes some kind of sadistic pleasure in making us look for the path every time we come and go." The redhead in front of her sighed, seemingly reading her intentions. Then he glanced back at her. "Still, I'm glad you decided to do this willingly. Kanda was ready to force you to do it, but… it's good that you're here of your own free will."

While he stumbled over his words, Lenalee knew what he meant. She nodded, deciding not to say anything.

Another branch slapped into her face, leaving a small scratch on her cheek.

"So," Lavi spoke up again after some time. "This is the plan. You check back into the place you were staying, and one day later you will go to Lotto's Antiques Shop."

"Got it." She confirmed. "At the shop, I ask for the person named Miranda. The password is 'scales are pricey nowadays'."

Lavi nodded at her recollection of the mission. "She'll give you more information on the next nearest dragon. You know what to do after that."

"Yes." Lenalee affirmed, ignoring the wailing of her dagger.

She may have been weak-minded in the past, but she was going to change that now. She just hoped it wasn't already too late.


	10. Modern/Café!AU: How To Be A Sweetheart 101

"I really need that couple's discount, so could you maybe-possibly-please pretend to be my girlfriend?"

Lenalee stares at the white-haired guy who is looking at her pleadingly, then turns her head to the right and the left, just to make sure he's really talking to her.

Then, in one last attempt to avoid getting involved in this, she points to herself. "Are you talking to me?"

He nods. "I know this sounds really creepy, but I'm really tight on money and I would die for a piece of cake right now." He clasps his hands together, nearly bowing to her in the middle of the street. "And Jerry's has a discount for couples going on today, so please!"

"Alright, alright!" She answers hastily before they make too much of a scene. "Just stop bowing already! It's embarrassing!"

She knows her face must look like a tomato at this point, but the guy doesn't seem to mind as he starts getting teary-eyed. "Ah thank you so much! You're an angel, a god-sent angel!"

"W-Whatever, let's just get this over and done with." She mentally berates herself, what is she thinking, doing what a stranger asked her to do.

"You won't regret it, the cakes and parfaits at Jerry's are divine!" The stranger rambles on, looping his arm around hers and pulling her towards the café in question.

She'd only been there once before, so she at least knew it was a trustworthy establishment. Plus, they'd be in public, so the guy couldn't try anything too funny.

"Wait." She stops him, making him look at her with wide blue-grey eyes. "I don't even know your name."

"Oh, sorry, right, that completely slipped my mind." He chuckles nervously. "I'm Allen. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Lenalee. Likewise."

Introductions out of the way, he continues dragging her down the road, past an intersection.

"Wait." She stops him once more. "Isn't Jerry's that way?"

He follows her outstretched finger with his eyes, past the intersection. "Oh, you're right." He mutters, a small blush forming on his cheeks. "Sorry, I get lost easily."

* * *

After many nearly wrong turns, Lenalee accepts the fact that Allen really isn't trying to do anything fishy to her, he just has a really, really bad sense of direction.

Mentally exhausted, the two of them stand in front of Jerry's. On the window, written in beautiful cursive letters, is a sign promoting the 'Dessert For Two' event that was currently going on.

"I really can't express how thankful I am towards you for doing this." Allen tells her once again.

"Really, you can stop thanking me." She waves it off. "Besides, who am I to say no to cake?"

He grins at her brightly, taking her hand into his and pulling her into the shop. It's small and quaint, the scent of freshly-baked sponge cake drifting through the air.

Ah, just as she remembered it.

Allen walks up to the counter, her in tow, and begins talking to the pink-haired man behind. "Hey there, we'd like the 'Dessert For Two' menu, please?"

The man looks from him to her, then nods. "Sure, anything for the two young lovebirds." He smiles at them, showing off his pearly whites while sliding a pink menu card over the counter.

Lenalee feels herself blushing, but tries to stay calm. Breathe in, and out, and in, and out…

"You can choose wherever you want to sit." The man informs them, gesturing towards the café. Thanking him, they both gravitate towards the window booth.

Just out of sight enough, but not too hidden.

"I can't help but wonder…" She muses as her eyes flit over the menu. "…why me?"

"God, this is going to sound really creepy." Allen mutters, hiding his face behind his hands. "But, ehm, you were the first girl I found that looked like… ehm… she didn't have a boyfriend?"

He peeks at her through his fingers, making for a comical sight.

She can't help but giggle at that. "Did I really look that pathetic?"

"No, no not at all!" He insists hurriedly. "It's just… how do I explain it… a gut feeling?"

Lenalee raises a brow at him. "You're telling me your gut feeling tells you whether somebody is in a relationship or not?"

"Maybe? Was I wrong?" He asks almost fearfully – just what kind of reaction is he expecting out of her?

"Well, no…"

"Oh, good." He exhales in relief. "I mean, uh, good for me? Ah, no, that sounds weird…"

"It's okay, let's talk about something else." She attempts changing the subject as the air between them starts getting awkward.

"Which cake are you getting?" She inquires instead, tapping the menu with her finger.

"Ah, there are so many choices." Allen's worries seem to fly away as he gazes at the pictured desserts. His silver-blue eyes sparkle, much like an exited child's. "But I feel like strawberry cream is the way to go."

"I think I'll go with chocolate." Lenalee muses with a satisfied hum. "The triple-chocolate here looks great."

* * *

"Oh, so you attend the all-boys school on the hill? I heard it's super fancy."

They had started making insignificant small talk, telling each other trivial information about themselves.

"It is, to a certain degree. But it's also pretty hellish." Allen explains, rubbing his hand against the back of his neck. "The schedule's also extremely tight."

"Mhm, I can imagine. Still, I didn't think you'd be younger than me." She points out, putting another mouthful of chocolaty goodness into her mouth.

"Everybody tells me it's the hair." He chuckles.

"Really? I wouldn't say it's the hair though… Probably more your face?" She tries to find the words to describe the maturity that he seems to give off, despite the fact that he was begging a total stranger to go eat cake with him.

He gasps in mock-horror, bringing a hand up to his face. "What? Is there something wrong with my face? Do you dare insult it?"

A giggle escapes her lips. "Mhm, yes, everything is wrong with it." She continues spinning the joke.

"I feel so wounded." He exclaims dramatically, putting the back of his free hand against his forehead, before bursting into light-hearted laughter.

She joins him in it, enjoying her time with him way more than she anticipated to.

* * *

"Give me your hoodie." She suddenly speaks up.

"Huh?" Allen pauses with the spoon almost in his mouth. "Why?"

"Don't ask questions, just give it to me quickly!" She whisper-yells, her hand stretched out across the table in anticipation.

Frowning, he sets down his fork and shrugs off his hoodie, passing it over the table. In a flash, she pulls it over her head and pulls the hood deep over her face, not saying anything.

"What's going on?" He asks her, but she merely hisses and puts a finger to her lips, then hunches back and sinks lower into her seat.

Taking that as a signal not to say anything, he continues eating, throwing her confused glances every now and then.

About ten minutes of silence later, she lets out a relieved sigh and pulls the hood back down. "Sorry about that. I really didn't want to have to explain this situation to my big brother."

She pulls off the hoodie, handing it back to him. "Thanks for not saying anything."

"Ehm, sure, no problem." He replies hesitantly.

Her eyes are focused on something outside of the window. "Okay, it doesn't look like he's coming back."

In the same instant, somebody slips into the booth next to Lenalee.

"Hey, Lena-lady!" A boisterous redhead greets her, flashing a perfect grin.

Much in contrast, Lenalee's expression dims. "What are you doing, Lavi?"

"Oh, you see," the redhead, Lavi, speaks nonchalant. "I happened to see this friend of mine desperately hide from her dear, dear big brother. I wonder what she could be hiding…." His visible green eye sweeps between the two of them, his eyebrow waggling suggestively.

"If you don't tell Komui about this, I'll give you Chomesuke's phone number." Lenalee begins bargaining right off the bat.

"Tsk, tsk, too late. I already got it, right from the source." Lavi smirks, waving his phone in front of her.

A moment later he is nursing his arm which Lenalee, despite her small frame, seemed to have damaged quite a bit with her punch. "If you already had it, why were you bugging me for it these past few weeks, moron?!"

Allen merely watches their hushed interactions with interest. "Is he a friend of yours?" He inquires once the two seem to settle on glaring at each other.

"I'm very tempted to say 'no'." Lenalee sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"You wound my heart, Lena. Is that how you treat your best friend?" Lavi exclaims dramatically, only to land on his butt after Lenalee promptly kicks, yes,  _kicks_  him out of the booth.

"At least introduce me to your boyfriend!" The redhead whines, poking his head over the table surface akin to a dog.

Lenalee buries her face in her palms, not saying anything. Allen really, really wants to clear up the misunderstanding, but the waiter chooses that moment to pass by their table.

Lavi uses the moment to slide into the free space next to Allen. "Oi, introduce yourself runt." Lavi commands. "Full name, date of birth, residency, blood type and what you would like written on your tombstone should you ever break Lena's heart. Preferred method of death as well, if you will."

Allen blinks. "Excuse me?" In all seriousness, he was only here for the cake.

Lenalee seemed to sink even further into her chair, burning scarlet at this point. "This is why I don't have a boyfriend." She grumbles.

"Don't worry Lena, I called back-up the moment I saw you were on a date." Lavi announces after that, shooting her a reassuring grin and giving her a grand thumbs-up.

In Allen's eyes, it does anything but reassure her. She lifts her face out of her palms, her skin suddenly pale, eyes wide with horror. "You did what? Oh god, please don't tell me you called who I think you did."

Lavi nods confidently. "I called  _him_."

Lenalee smiles shakily, turning towards Allen. "Sorry things turned out this way, but you should start running. Don't worry, I'll cover the bill." She says almost automatically, as if she's done this countless times already.

"Nonsense." Lavi speaks up, gripping Allen's shoulder tightly. "A real man would never run from something like itty-witty Yuu."

"That's strange, I thought I just heard a stupid rabbit call me 'itty-witty'." A new, deep voice joins the conversation. Looming over their table darkly is a tall, Asian man who looks anything but 'itty-witty'. Pissed off beyond being pissed off is a more accurate description of the man's scowl.

"Oh, Yuu." Lavi chuckles nervously. "How nice of you to join us. Lena was telling the runt here to start running, but I guess it's too late for that now."

Not even listening to their conversation, Allen continues eating his cake. He notes Lenalee is doing the same, albeit with a distressed expression. Catching his eye, she seems to gesture towards the cake and makes fast eating motions, swirling her fork in circles.

He nods lightly, thinking he gets what she means.

After wolfing down their cakes and beverages, Lenalee slaps some money on the table and bolts out of the booth, Allen doing the same and elegantly leaping over the table – without knocking anything over – and following suite, much to the surprise of the other two.

They run out of the café, Lenalee gripping onto Allen's hand to make sure he doesn't get lost, and drags him through the streets.

He doesn't know how long they are running, nor does he have any clue as to where they are once they stop.

She leans forward, panting as she catches her breath. "I'm really sorry about that." She smiles apologetically. "But those two mean well. Somewhere, somehow, they mean well."

Allen can't help but laugh at their situation. "What… what just happened, anyway?"

"You really don't want to know." Her voice sounds exhausted as her shoulders slump forward. "It's like having one overprotective big brother isn't enough."

"It's a miracle you were even allowed to walk around by yourself." Allen jokes, but Lenalee's eyes are dead-serious as she nods in confirmation.

"I know, right?" She runs her fingers through her dark green pigtails, letting out a deep, frustrated breath. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." He reassures her. "I had fun anyways."

She blinks at him, perplexed, then bursts out laughing. At first, he doesn't get it, but begins to redden once it hits him. He made it sound like they were on a date.

Her laughter rings on, loudly. It's not a soft chime, like bells, but solid and roaring, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"S-Sorry," she wheezes as she tries to get herself back under control, "it's just…"

"You don't have to say it." He stops her, cheeks still aflame. "You really… don't have to say it."

She wipes the tears from her purple eyes, her lips still stretched across her face. "We should do this again."

He blinks at her. "Huh?"

She holds out her hand to him. "I also had fun today. Let's be friends and do this again."

Allen knows he looks like a ripe tomato at this point, but he takes her hand into his and shakes it. "That'd… that's be nice."

* * *

When Lenalee gets home that afternoon, a light skip in her step, she is met with a rather unexpected sight.

Her brother is on the floor, wailing like a little child and surrounded by used tissues.

"Komui? Is everything alright?" She asks hesitantly, taking in the view.

He looks up at her, red-rimmed eyes and snot-covered face. "Oh Lenalee!" He jumps up and latches his arms around her stomach. "My precious, precious Lenalee! You are too young!" His words get muffled as he buries his face in her shirt, which is now undoubtedly contaminated.

"W-What is it, brother?" She almost doesn't want know. Almost.

"Why didn't you tell me you were getting married?!" The grown man cries out loud.

"… I beg your pardon?" Her eye twitches as her brother's grip tightens even further.

"Lavi came by and told me about it! He told me you had the wedding all planned out already and everything! How could you do this to me?!"

He sniffles loudly, further wetting her shirt with his tears.

Lenalee is speechless. But one thing is for sure: She's going to murder Lavi the next time she sees him.


End file.
